Mass Effect: First Contact CODEX
by Kralizec314
Summary: A codex for my AU Story, Mass Effect: First Contact, which has yet to be posted.
1. Chapter 1

**Codex**

 **History of the UNSC**

 **2170: Expansion**

A unified Earth government was formed in the wake of the Interplanetary War. Now, the victors were forced to deal with a less obvious but equally serious threat: overpopulation and a massive military that had no enemy to fight. In the postwar period there were massive population surges and the overpopulation, coupled with the destruction and famine bred by the Rain Forest Wars, threatened to destabilize the economy.

 **2291: Faster-Than-Light**

A team of researchers, physicists, and mathematicians working in secret developed the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, a practical means of propelling spacecraft across vast interstellar distances. This new engine allowed ships to tunnel into "the Slipstream" (also called "Slipspace"). Slipspace is a domain with alternate physical laws, allowing faster-than-light travel without relativistic side-effects. Faster-than-light travel is not instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more.

The SFTE generated a resonance field, which when coupled with the unusual physics of the Slipstream, allowed for dramatically shorter transit times between stars; however, scientists noted an odd "flexibility" to temporal flow while inside the Slipstream. Though no human scientist is sure why travel time between stars is not constant, many theorize that there are "eddies" or "currents" within the Slipstream—there is generally a five to ten percent variance in travel times between stars. This temporal inconsistency has given military tacticians and strategists fits—hampering many coordinated attacks.

 **2310: First Wave**

The Earth government unveiled the first in a line of colony ships—and volunteers were in great supply. Conditions on Earth had deteriorated in the face of overpopulation, so hitching a ride out to a colony became an attractive option.

Each colony ship was assigned military personnel and escort ships to help better utilize the massive (and expensive) standing fleets that, in the collapse of armed dissent, were soaking up a great deal of funding and resources.

Because FTL travel in this period was still fairly new and expensive, colonists and military personnel faced a stringent regimen of physical and mental testing. In theory, only the best-qualified citizens and soldiers were allowed to colonize "nearby" worlds. This was the birth of the Inner Colonies.

 **2362: The Odyssey**

The Odyssey launched on January 1, 2362. The lead ship in a fleet of colony vessels, the Odyssey—laden with troops and terraforming gear—spearheaded the colonization of a new world. This sparked the first wave of human expansion beyond the confines of the Solar System.

 **2390: Inner Colonies**

By 2390, the colonization of the Inner Colonies was fully underway. There were 210 human-occupied worlds in various stages of terraforming, and the population burden across human-controlled space was largely stabilized.

 **2490: The Birth of the Outer Colonies**

Expansion continued at a rapid pace, and by 2490 human space encompassed more than 800 worlds throughout the Orion Arm of the Milky Way (ranging from fairly well-tamed planetary strongholds to tiny hinterland settlements). Outward expansion continued, and the Inner Colonies become a political and economic stronghold, though they relied heavily on raw materials supplied by the Outer Colonies.

During this period, the planet Reach (orbiting Epsilon Eridani, right on Earth's metaphorical doorstep) became the UNSC's primary Naval yard and training academy. Reach was a major producer of warships and colony vessels, as well as a training ground for covert operatives and Special Forces.

 **2494: The Insurrection**

This year saw the beginning of the most destructive conflict in Human history, a Civil War which would claim 5 billion lives, the destruction of dozens of Inner Colonies, and which could have resulted in the collapse of Human civilization and a Dark Age of technological regression and barbarism lasting centuries, had the UNSC not emerged victorious over the Insurrectionists. Despite the devastation of the war, it did result in many technological innovations, such as improved Slipspace travel, advances in ship-to-ship combat weapons, the development of MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armour currently utilized by UNSC Special Forces, and improved shipboard Fusion Reactors.

 **2587: Aftermath and Reconstruction**

At the close of the Insurrection, the UNSC engaged in an extensive period of reconstruction in order to restore stability to the colonies that suffered heavy damage during the war.

 **2597: First Contact**

The Outer Colony Harvest comes under attack by a multi-racial Citadel Council taskforce consisting of Asari, Turian, and Salarian warships.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I've always wondered: what would happen if the Covenant's discovery of Harvest was delayed by a century, and the Insurrection was allowed to run it's course? Technology tends to advance quickly during conflict, so what kind of advances would the UNSC achieve during the Insurrection, if it was uninterrupted by an alien invasion? What would happen if the Citadel Council was the first alliance of alien races encountered by Humanity, and how would they influence us? How would we influence them?**

 **That's basically the premise of my fic.**

 **Rather than jumping head first into the story, I want to present a series of Codex entries to introduce interested readers into my Alternate Universe and see what the reception is; if it's positive, I'll proceed. If it's negative, I'll drop this fic like a bag of roaches. Naturally, as this is AU, there will be certain changes to canon.**

 **1: The Human-Forerunner Connection will be as Bungie originally intended, with Humans descended from the Forerunners; not because I dislike Bungie's retcon or the direction 343i is taking the series, but because I want to explore how this will define Humanity's relations with the Covenant and the Citadel races.**

 **2: The Quarians have succeeded in taking back their homeworld and destroyed the Geth, as the Reapers weren't there to interfere, so the Geth are completely vulnerable to the Quarian's new weapon; thus, they have spent the last 500 years rebuilding their civilization and reclaiming their lost colonies in the Perseus Veil.**

 **Mass Effect: First Contact is going to be the first story of many, and it will focus on the invasion of Harvest by the Citadel Council(why have Asari, Turians and Salarians invading together? Because it wouldn't be HALO unless Humans are threatened by many races; I want to capture that feeling of having the whole galaxy against you). My second story, Children of the Gods, will be about the Human Covenant War. The third story, Reclamation, will be about Humanity reclaiming the Forerunner's old empire and technology, while dealing with Covenant remnants, Citadel Council terrorists, the Created, and a lone Forerunner who looks down on the "primitive" UNSC, and seeks to restore the Forerunners to prominence.**

 **I'll have other stories afterwards, dealing with the Flood and the Reapers, but that's a long way off.**

 **Anyways, the next chapter will give details about the Insurrection.**

 **R &R**


	2. Chapter 2:Insurrection

**CODEX**

 **Insurrection**

The Insurrection is the official name given to the apocalyptic civil war fought between the UNSC, and the various rebel organizations, over control of the Outer Colonies, beginning in the year 2494. Originally, the breakaway movements began as disquiet against the Colonial Administration Authority's oversight of the Outer Colonies, with the colonists tired of the organization's often overbearing bureaucracy. It first started as peaceful protests, and after years of frustrating negotiations, some groups began to use more forceful methods, eventually abandoning diplomacy in favour of terrorist tactics.

Initially confined to a few star systems, the fighting spread across Human Space in only several years; as the conflict escalated, even some of the Inner Colonies were targeted by rebel militants and terrorists. What had once been widespread support for the Innies quickly dried up at the outbreak of violence. Though they started targeting only military and Colonial Administration targets, as the UNSC's counter-insurgency operations began, more and more innocent people were caught in the crossfire.

The Insurrection claimed over 5 billion lives between the early 2490s and late 2580s. Although the Innies were initially made up of various, disparate rebel groups with their own goals and methods, by the 2530s, they began to work together and pool their resources, forming a more efficient and unified rebel front against the UNSC. Some of the opponents of the war believed the simplist solution was to simply give the rebels their autonomy, for the UNSC to pull out, and let the rebels have their independence. However, the value of the colonies made them too important to abandon.

The Insurrection finally came to an end in the year 2587, 93 years after the beginning of hostilities. It was, by far, the most devastating war in Human history.

 **HISTORY**

 **Origins**

The beginnings of the Insurrection are closely intertwined with the socioeconomic composition and role of humanity's Outer Colonies as well as the realities of interstellar expansion.

The Unified Earth Government's first wave of extrasolar colonization took place between 2362 and 2390, resulting in the formation of the prestigious Inner Colonies. During the century that followed, new colonies were established at an even more rapid pace as the technologies involved became more widely available and affordable; the worlds settled during this period would become the Outer Colonies. Many of the Outer Colonies were established to supply goods for the Inner Colonies and Earth and entire worlds were established for the purposes of agriculture or mining. Earth and the Inner Colonies became exceedingly dependent on resources produced by the Outer Colonies, prompting Earth to take steps to ensure they stayed loyal to its authority.

From the beginning, the Outer Colonies were bound to become more unstable than the Inner Colonies. Whereas the original settlers of the latter had been carefully selected from Earth's finest, by the time the Outer Colonies were created the recruitment standards had loosened considerably and were no longer as strictly supervised. Many of the corporations contracted for off-world colonization had their interests in obtaining rights to valuable resources, colonial personnel being a secondary consideration: this led to the illegal conscription of colonists or acquiring them from among pardoned criminals. The Outer Colonies also became a haven for Earth and Inner Colony citizens unhappy with the Earth government or otherwise looking for a fresh start, and many fled to the Outer Colonies through both legal and illegal means.

In the early days of human colonization, UNSC Naval escorts and shipboard Marine complements had accompanied the outbound colony ships in order to maintain security as well as to justify the continued upkeep of the UNSC's massive military, which had not been needed in its original capacity for well over a century. As colonization became more affordable and widespread following the settlement of the Inner Colonies, the nascent Outer Colonies initially lacked a pervasive military presence—apart from the Colonial Military Administration, whose true loyalties ultimately lay with the colonies over Earth. As piracy began to plague the colony systems, some of the colonies appealed to the UNSC for protection, which began the UNSC's involvement in the Outer Colonies.

 **Escalation**

Following the rapid volumetric growth of the region of space controlled by the human race throughout the 25th century, the UEG found it increasingly difficult to maintain its hold over the Outer Colonies, hundreds of which were scattered across exceedingly large swathes of space. By 2490, the Outer Colonies surpassed the core worlds in number by several hundred. Despite their more discrete composition, the Outer Colonies proved an ample breeding ground for a strong nationalist sentiment among their citizens which in turn led to their perceiving the Earth government—and the UNSC which imposed its will—as a draconian outside force. Civil disobedience was not uncommon, often taking the form of refusal to pay taxes and the establishment of unauthorized settlements outside government oversight. On some cases, the Colonial Administration Authority made concessions to ameliorate the situation; for example, the registration of births to government records was kept voluntary. On the other hand, most Outer Colony citizens took advantage of the benefits offered to them by the CAA, including the free vaccination program.

As a result of the growing rumblings of discontent, many inhabitants of Earth and the Inner Colonies began to feel threatened by the Outer Colonies surrounding them. The UEG and its colonial governing and military entities—the CAA and initially the Colonial Military Administration—continued to maintain their military presence and economic control over the colonies with trade restrictions and taxes, engendering further dissatisfaction among the colonists and provoking the more radical secessionist elements. While outspoken and violent resistance against Earth was initially confined to separate insurgent organizations, even the leadership of some Outer Colonies would eventually be sympathetic to the insurrectionist cause. As well, as these sentiments spread, even elements of the CMA became increasingly sympathetic to the rebels, eventually providing them with information, funding and equipment. The CMA's involvement with the rebels went public in 2497, leading to the organization's gradual dismantling and its replacement with the UNSC as the primary force patrolling the colonies.

In 2491, Dr. Elias Carver presented a set of theories known as the Carver Findings to the UNSC High Command. According to a projection algorithm devised by Dr. Carver, social order in the Outer Colonies would break down completely in the near future. To stabilize the colonies, Carver recommended a swift and extensive military action on part of the UNSC. Carver's critics asserted that the situation between the core worlds and the Outer Colonies could be stabilized through diplomacy over enough time; however, the UNSC military adopted the Carver Findings as their standard model for the years to come and sought to curb any major unrest with military intervention. In the same year, the UNSC resurrected the mothballed ORION Project, creating the first generation of supersoldiers designed to surgically remove rebel leadership. Carver's proposal also informed the creation of the subsequent SPARTAN-II Program, although by the time of its creation the predicted scenario was even bleaker: an endless, apocalyptic civil war between the Inner and Outer Colonies.

Perhaps the most notorious incident often cited as one of the reasons for the outbreak of the Insurrection is the fate of Far Isle in 2492, when the UNSC used nuclear weapons to put down a major rebellion on the colony.

 **The Callisto Incident**

The Callisto Incident was a pivotal event which is often considered to have started the Insurrection, widening the scope of the conflict from occasional, disparate colonial rebellions into hostilities on a larger scale. The UNSC Callisto, a corvette, was captured by Insurrectionists when boarding merchant vessels and all UNSC crew aboard it were killed. In response, the UNSC sent a battle group of three destroyers.

On March 2, 2494, the battle group eventually found the Callisto in the 26 Draconis System. During the subsequent battle, one of the destroyers was destroyed, and the two others were crippled. Despite this, Second Lieutenant Preston Cole managed to score a victory by bluffing the Callsito into surrendering.

Following the Callisto Incident, the Insurrection began to spread to other systems, including the Eridanus system which became embroiled in a local insurrection in the same year.

 **Operation Trebuchet**

In 2513, the UNSC initiated Operation: TREBUCHET, one of the largest operations in UNSC history; spanning ten years and costing hundreds of thousands of lives, the goal was to root out the Insurrectionists and impose order in the Outer Colonies.

Fighting broke out in the Eridanus system, particularly at Eridanus II and the space around it, as rebels supporting the system's breakaway from the UNSC built a small navy of civilian craft and attempted to take over the system. The disorganized Eridanus rebels were eventually brought together by Colonel Robert Watts. The UNSC responded harshly, sending a fleet of destroyers and carriers to the system to combat the rebel fleet. The resulting battle pitted the UNSC against at least one hundred smaller rebel craft. The UNSC forces defeated their rebel counterparts with little difficulty. During the battle, the rebels were routed and the remnants of their fleet fled into the asteroid belt to Eridanus Secundus. They would eventually establish a fully functional asteroid base and began conducting raids again by 2525.

A ground campaign also began on Eridanus II, as units from the 9th Marine Expeditionary Force were sent to the planet in force, hoping to capture leaders of the rebel movement and pacify the population. One of these units, the first Battalion of the 21st Marine Division commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ponder, was involved in a disastrous mission to try and capture a rebel leader - the second in command - in Elysium City, which ended in the leader's family being killed and Ponder wounded and demoted.

The fighting eventually spread to the Epsilon Eridani system. By 2524, the fighting involved in Operation: TREBUCHET alone had taken over a million lives, the majority of which being civilians. In that year, a Marine battalion was posted at the colony world of Tribute, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Aboim and supported by the corvette UNSC Bum Rush and air support from Hornets. The battalion attempted to put a stop to rebel bomb makers near the city of Casbah. Two special warfare squads, led by Staff Sergeants Avery Johnson and Nolan Byrne, were involved in disastrous operation in June. Byrne's team was killed during a hostage situation at a Jim Dandy restaurant near Casbah city; thirty-eight civilians, three Marines, and two rebels were killed in the bombing. Byrne and Johnson were pulled from the system, and were later sent to Harvest.

An armed insurgency also occurred on the colony of Epsilon Eridani IV, which the legendary Admiral Preston Cole was sent to put down.

 **Spartan Deployments**

It was in the year 2525 that saw the first deployments of the Spartan Supersoldiers. The Spartan IIs, led by John 117, went on a mission to infiltrate and capture rebel leader Colonel Robert Watts, hiding in the asteroid base Eridanus Secundus. The mission was a complete success, and with the information extracted from Watts during interrogation, the UNSC learned of other significant rebel leaders.

After being equipped with the state-of-the-art MJOLNIR Powered Exoskeleton systems, the Spartan IIs spent the next 6 years eliminating rebel leaders and causing significant damage to the Insurrectionists' efforts.

 **The Breadbasket Campaigns**

Reeling from the systematic elimination of their leadership, the Insurrectionists began to unite together and formed the New Colonial Alliance, to better organize the rebellion against the UNSC. The NCA established its headquarters on an uninhabitable world, A Baoa Qu, in an obscure star system outside UNSC jurisdiction. Despite the hazardous conditions of the planet, it was an abundant source of titanium, making it perfect to serve as the NCA's primary shipyard.

In 2531, the NCA initiated a strategy that would deal a crippling blow to Earth and the Inner Colonies. In the Outer Colonies, there exist one-hundred and twenty-six agricultural worlds. Forty-Two of these worlds provided food for Earth and the Inner Colonies, while the remaining eighty-four provided food for the Outer Colonies. To cut off the Inner Colonies from valuable resources, the NCA began a large-scale military campaign across dozens of "ag-worlds", with the UNSC brutally responding. The Breadbasket Campaigns lasted from 2531 to 2543 and resulted in the deaths of millions, the majority of which were Inner Colony citizens who suffered from severe famine.

It was during the Breadbasket Campaigns that the Spartan III Program was initiated. While the Spartan IIs had proven to be highly effective against the Insurrectionists, there were not enough of them to turn the tide of the war. In addition, they were too expensive to train, augment and equip in large numbers. The Spartan IIIs were cheaper to arm, train and produce; they would rely on teamwork and large numbers, rather than advanced tech and equipment to achieve effectiveness.

 **Space Warfare**

By the year 2543, the NCA had managed to build a massive fleet to rival the UNSC's own fleet. Unlike the old makeshift civilian craft used during Operation: Trebuchet, these were real warships with state-of-the-art ship-to-ship weapons, Titanium-A armour, and Smart AIs. With their new fleet, the NCA began to strike at UNSC strongholds throughout the Outer Colonies.

Eventually, the NCA began to raid the Inner Colonies; unlike the UNSC, who have tried to prevent widespread damage to colonial infrastructure, the NCA would unleash Nuclear Weapons on a colony from orbit, killing millions of citizens, and causing billions of cR in property damage. Unfortunately, due to slow SlipSpace Transit times, UNSC battle-groups wouldn't arrive to defend the Inner Colonies until after the damage was done, something the UNSC would be highly criticized for in the aftermath of the civil war.

By 2551, over thirty-six Inner Colonies were ravaged, and over 3.92 billion colonists died in the raids. At this point, however, there was a brief lull in the fighting as the NCA planned their next move.

 **The Fall of Reach**

This battle was one of the largest engagements in the Insurrection, eclipsed only by the Battle of A Baoa Qu.

The rebels managed to slip in a large number of troops groundside, at which point they attacked the Visegrad Comm Relay, and after that, the groundside orbital defence generators, crippling them with Nuclear Weapons. After the Orbital Defence Grid was powered down, the Insurrectionists began a large-scale planetary assault, attacking Reach with an armada of two-hundred warships. Although the Epsilon Eridani Defence fleet fought valiantly, they were soon routed, granting the rebel forces orbital superiority over Reach.

In control of Reach's orbit, the rebel fleet began Nuclear Bombardment of the colony, obliterating cities and whatever military infrastructure existed, including the orbital shipyards. By the time the rebels retreated, Reach was completely laid to waste, with over six-hundred and thirty million colonists dead.

The fall of Reach was a significant strategic defeat for the UNSC, who had lost their primary military-industrial complex outside the Sol system, and had sustained crippling military losses at Reach, losing over one-hundred and thirty-five warships.

 **Secession**

Due to the widespread destruction of Reach's military-industrial complex, as well as its mining operations, Earth and Mars became the sole remaining provider of warships for the UNSC. Unfortunately, because Reach was the UNSC's main supplier of titanium, the materials needed to build warships became highly scarce, preventing the UNSC from quickly restoring its fleet numbers.

For the NCA, this was a golden opportunity. For the next eight years, the NCA fleet would chase the UNSC fleet around the Outer Colonies, until eventually, the UNSC pulled back to the Inner Colonies, due to a lack of necessary resources and manpower needed to root out rebels and protect trade routes from pirates. With the UNSC out of action, the NCA began to consolidate its hold on the Outer Colonies; over two-hundred and eight colonies became member states of the NCA, while the rest chose to remain separate and were left to the mercy of pirates.

 **Temporary Hiatus**

By the year 2560, Human Space was firmly cut in half, with Earth and the Inner Colonies on one side, and the NCA and pirate warlords in control of the Outer Colonies. During the next ten years, hostilities would come to a halt as the UNSC attempts to recoup their losses, while the NCA would consolidate its hold on the Outer Colonies.

Even though much of Reach's infrastructure was utterly destroyed, its titanium deposits were still salvageable, and so, mining began almost immediately after the radiation was cleaned up. However, the UNSC did not feel comfortable turning Reach into a military stronghold again, as its position was too well known and they would run the risk of the Insurrectionists attacking again. And so, the planet Onyx was chosen as the UNSC's newest stronghold, chosen because the Zeta Doradus system is unknown to most.

Onyx became the site of the UNSC's military-industrial facilities, such as shipyards and weapons research. It was on Onyx where the Spartan IVs were trained and where the GEN2 MJOLNIR armour was developed, as well as the Semi-powered Assault Armour for the marines. The newest advances in ship-to-ship warfare technology, SlipSpace navigation, and starship fusion reactors were developed on Onyx, as well as improvements for Prowler stealth tech.

By the year 2570, the UNSC was strong enough to take the fight to the NCA and reclaim the Outer Colonies.

 **Operation: Infinity**

The largest operation in UNSC history, Operation: Infinity was initiated in 2570, and lasted until the end of the Insurrection, in 2587.

The UNSC's first order of business was to reclaim the agricultural worlds that had fallen into the hands of various pirate warlords. This part of the operation lasted for six years and was relatively easy for the UNSC, whose superior naval tech and understanding of SlipSpace navigation trumped the pirates in every battle.

With the "ag-worlds" firmly under UNSC control again, and with the pirate organizations reeling from defeat, the UNSC turned its attention to the NCA. All-out war broke out across hundreds of planets in the Outer Colonies, as the UNSC fought fiercely to reclaim them. Unfortunately, over the next nine years of war, a great deal of colonial infrastructure would be laid to waste, as well as hundreds of millions of citizens dying in the conflicts.

In 2585, the NCA's strategic military headquarters, A Baoa Qu, was discovered and the launched a major offensive to "crush the head of the snake". During the battle, the UNSC launched the 'Nova-Bomb" against the planet, utterly destroying A Baoa Qu, and depriving the NCA of their only means of ship production.

After the destruction of A Baoa Qu, fighting continued for another two years until the NCA surrendered unconditionally, relinquishing control of the Outer Colonies to the UNSC, and officially ending the Insurrection. The war had lasted for ninety-three years and had claimed over 5 billion deaths.

 **Aftermath**

At the close of the Insurrection, the UNSC engaged in an extensive period of reconstruction in order to restore stability to the colonies that suffered heavy damage during the war. However, many of the Outer Colonies which remained loyal to the UNSC grew bitter towards them, as they felt abandoned during the 2560s, which many call the "Age of Piracy". Piracy continued to plague the Outer Colonies, prompting the UNSC to increase its military presence. In addition, the UNSC has engaged many of the Outer Colony governors in negotiations, hoping to placate them and prevent another uprising, though these diplomatic talks are still ongoing as of 2597.


	3. Chapter 3: Human Technology

**CODEX**

 **Human Technology**

By the 26th century, Humans have achieved a remarkable level of technological sophistication, but some things have remained static. The most basic technologies (such as ballistic weapons and the wheel), have undergone few principle changes, the reason being that they have proven to be reliable and efficient; therefore they do not require heavy alteration or replacement.

However, certain significant advancements in other fields have been made, such as the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engines that allow ships to reach other star systems, as well as the creation of highly sophisticated AIs that can serve to fulfil a versatile amount of roles.

In addition, Humans have also developed various forms of nanotechnology which allows many advances impossible with conventional engineering. Other common construction materials include polycrete, permacrete and instacrete.

 **AI, robotics and automation**

Human AI constructs can be grouped into two main categories; "dumb" and "smart" AIs. These labels are technically misleading, as both types are extremely intelligent, but dumb AIs are only capable of learning about subjects within their designated area of expertise, whereas smart AIs exhibit much more human-like characteristics, such as emotions, creativity and intuition. Smart AIs can only be created by scanning a human brain and replicating the neural pattern to a digital storage system known as a Riemann matrix. However, after seventy or eighty years of operation, the AI will descend to a terminal condition known as rampancy. Various solutions have been attempted to counter this issue, but none are known to have been effectively implemented. However, increasing the active lifespan of a Smart AI 'tenfold' is considered an improvement.

Although the UNSC still relies heavily on human combatants, robotic drones are used in combat to a certain extent, often providing fire support or real-time reconnaissance on the battlefield. Examples of UNSC drones include the F-99 Wombat, the MAKO and ARGUS drones.

In civilian society, automated systems—sometimes controlled by the subprocesses of a larger AI—have found uses in piloting civilian vehicles as well as performing most manual labor in agriculture and industry. The scale of AI-driven automation ranges from single cities to entire worlds; the former sometimes operated by a "dumb" AI such as the Superintendent while "smart" AI Mack's oversight of Harvest's agricultural operations is an example of the latter.

 **Medical advances and biotechnology**

Humanity has mastered a number of medical technologies, improving the quality of life in general but also providing many military applications. Among the most prominent is flash cloning, which allows the re-growth of almost any body part and is often used to replace damaged or lost organs. Lost limbs may also be replaced with advanced mechanical prosthetics. Humans have been effectively immunized against some conventional diseases, including cancer. Though isolated cases of cancer still occur, they can be easily treated. Medical science has resolved most issues with eyesight, although some people choose to wear glasses for a variety of reasons, among them the ability to use them to project a heads-up display.

On long slipspace voyages, humans use cryo chambers, allowing the occupant to enter cryonic suspension which effectively stops biological aging for the duration of the journey. These and many more advances have continued to push human longevity beyond prior estimates; with flash-cloned organ transplants, coupled with time spent in cryosleep, one's biological age may be decades less than their chronological one.

The use of sterile field generators means that surgery is not only safer to perform, with a greatly reduced risk of infection, but is also able to be performed in the field. Even critical injuries can be treated with relatively limited facilities; with sufficiently sophisticated equipment such as that of the UNSC Hopeful, the resuscitation of individuals traditionally considered dead is not unheard of. Biological death can also be delayed by placing an individual into cryonic suspension until proper medical care can be provided. A number of synthetic compounds have been developed to allow more rapid recovery from injuries or to ease the treatment of patients in general; these include biofoam, bone-knitting polymer, and polymerized hemoglobin.

Humans have also adopted a variety of bioengineering and augmentation technologies. The first widespread use of biochemical augmentation was implemented in the early days of human space travel, to help humans adjust to long-duration spaceflight and different planetary environmental conditions. Subsequently, human enhancements saw military application in the first interplanetary conflicts. While human enhancement has been commonplace for centuries, more extensive augmentation or experimentation has been limited due to ethical concerns. An exception to this are the biochemical and cybernetic augmentations used in the SPARTAN programs, which represent the peak of human medical technology in the field of biological enhancement. Human rebels also use "rumbledrugs", which degenerate the user's body but grant them superhuman abilities for a short time.

UNSC personnel are equipped with neural implants, more sophisticated models of which—typically issued to ship captains—enable a human mind to interface with computer systems and receive or send information. The neural marker is an interviewing device which can record an individual's thoughts and visualize them on a monitor. Cognitive Impression Modelling allows the translation of a human brain's neural framework into digital form for the purpose of creating AIs, although the resulting intelligence is not a perfect copy of the person it was created from due to the chaotic process in which the AI is brought into being.

 **Space-faring**

During the mid-20th century, humanity experimented with rocket technology using it to build satellites and visit and subsequently colonize the Moon and beyond in the latter half of the 21st century. With the advent of Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engines allowing faster-than-light travel, the UNSC was able to expand well beyond the confines of the Solar System, colonizing hundreds of worlds. UNSC freighters transport food and goods between colonies, while UNSC Navy warships protect trade routes from pirates and defend colonies from enemy assault. Space elevators are used on many worlds to provide orbital transport. Advanced terraforming and climate control techniques have been developed, making human habitation possible even in many formerly hostile environments.

Human spacecraft are typically equipped with nuclear fusion engines for subluminal propulsion. These drives provide thrust via expelling either the fusion reactor exhaust or some other form of reaction propellant through a series of thruster nozzles. They are capable of remarkable thrust, allowing ships to cross interplanetary distances in a matter of hours, although gravity-assist maneuvers are commonly used to an advantage. Rocket thrusters using triamino hydrazine as propellant are used for attitude control and small-scale maneuvering. In addition to visual stealth systems, UNSC prowlers are able to use "engine baffles" to completely mask their emission profiles to match the surrounding space while running with reduced engine power. Humans also make use of anti-gravity technology for their spacecraft.

 **Weapons**

While still primarily based on projectiles and chemical reactions, human weapons are more advanced than the weapons of the 21st century. They come with a variety of electronic gadgets such as ammo readouts and are significantly more reliable, seldom malfunctioning. They are also generally immune to electromagnetic pulses. Still, there have been many advanced developments, such as electromagnetic accelerator weapons. The most prominent of these is the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, used as the main armament on UNSC warships, and in smaller form in ground-based weapons. Another electromagnetic weapon system, known as the railgun, is used to a lesser degree. There have been developments in energy weapons such as the Spartan Laser and the pulse lasers used on UNSC prowlers. Advances in technology allow the development of highly efficient explosive devices, including the Lancet micro-missiles, capable of decimating main battle tanks.

One of the largest breakthroughs came in the mid-20th century where humans discovered that nuclear fission and fusion can be used as a weapon to cause a large explosion. By the 26th century, there are several types of nuclear weapons in the UNSC's arsenal, intended for both atmospheric and exoatmospheric use. Innovation in this area would also converge in the creation of humanity's most devastating weapon during the Insurrection, known as the NOVA bomb, which can destroy entire planets.

 **Vehicles**

Though human vehicles still rely on crude wheeled or continuous track motion for locomotion, UNSC vehicles are still extremely advanced, incorporating high-strength materials with precision engineering to improve mobility and durability, while often mounting a variety of weapons or equipment to increase their flexibility. Most have switched from fossil fuels to hydrogen-fuel cell engines or at the very least use hybrid-electric engines for enhanced fuel efficiency. The most powerful of human vehicles usually run on continuous tracks that allow them to better distribute their weight over uneven ground and to better grip uneven terrain thus allowing for the vehicles to go places where other wheeled counterparts could never, but the vehicles are usually heavier than their wheeled counterparts.

Most UNSC aircraft are designed with Vertical Take-off and Landing capabilities, using adjustable jet engines for lift and thrust. It is possible that some incorporate lifting body principles.

 **Communications**

By the end of the Insurrection, humanity had developed superluminal communications systems enabling instantaneous communication and data transfer across interstellar distances. Prior to this, the primary form of long-range communication was limited to manually delivering the messages to the recipient by carrying messages aboard starships. For short-range communications, humanity employs conventional radio, as well as tight-beam laser and maser-based systems. The various human communication systems are commonly shortened to "COM".

 **Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine**

The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine (SFTE), colloquially known as the slipspace drive, Shaw-Fujikawa drive and FTL drive, is a spacecraft propulsion system capable of making transitions to and from slipstream space and by extension allowing faster-than-light interstellar travel. The device functions by creating ruptures between normal space and slipspace. The nonstandard physics of slipspace allow it to be used as a shortcut realm, facilitating interstellar travel between distant regions of space in reasonable time.

Despite many scientists in Citadel Space condemning the Slipspace Drive as dangerous and unreliable, many recognize the SFTE as Humanity's greatest achievement, and praise has been lavished on them for developing a means of FTL independent of Element Zero and the Mass Relays.

The SFTE functions by creating ruptures between normal space and an alternate plane known as slipspace. The SFTE generates a quantum field, which prevents the ship and its occupants from being exposed to the eleven-dimensional space-time of slipspace, instead translating the ship's presence to the foreign physics of the slipstream and "squeezing" it through the higher dimensions.

A Human slipspace drive does not actually "accelerate" a spacecraft through slipstream space; this is performed by the ship's conventional reaction thrusters. Thus ships with more powerful conventional engines are also faster in the slipstream.

In the first centuries of spaceflight, Human starships could traverse slipspace at an average speed of 2.625 Light Years per Day; during the 2560s, extensive improvements in understanding slipspace increased this speed a dozen fold, enabling UNSC ships to travel at 31.5 LYPD.

 **Space Elevator**

Also known as a Space Tether, it is an enormous structure which is used to ferry large loads of materials into space. Space Elevators generally consist of large structures of carbon nanofiber which span straight up from the ground, thousands of kilometres high, ending at stations in space. Vehicles using the structure derive their power from strands of superconducting material. Only Humans are known to have created such structures, and the Space Elevator is considered to be a Human icon in Citadel Space, and are popular tourist attractions.

Space Elevators are very common in Human Space. While Earth has six Space Elevators, many Outer Colonies have more since there is a heavy reliance on the production and shipment of agricultural and mineral goods from remote planets. At the time of First Contact, the farming colony of Harvest had seven Space Elevators.

A space elevator is a structure designed to transport and ferry different materials from a planet's surface into space and onto a platform. The base concept of a space elevator consists of a cable attached to the surface on the equator and reaching outwards into space. By positioning it so that the total centrifugal force exceeds the total gravity, either by extending the cable or attaching a counterweight, the elevator stays in place in geosynchronous orbit. Once moved far enough, climbers are accelerated further by the planet's rotation.

The space elevator mainly consists of a tether, an extremely resilient cable that spans from the surface to a point beyond geosynchronous orbit. As the planet rotates, the inertia at the end of the tether counteracts gravity and keeps the tether taut. Vehicles can then climb the tether and escape the planet's gravity without the use of rockets. The engineering of such a structure requires an extremely light but extremely strong material (21st-century estimates required a material ~2 g/cm³ in density and a tensile strength of ~70 Gpa). Such a structure permits delivery of great quantities of cargo and people to orbit, and at costs only a fraction of those associated with conventional means with very little to no danger.

The space elevator is gigantic, reaching into thousands of kilometres in height. An orbital tether's center of gravity must be above or at a point of geosynchronous orbit above the body it is located on. Because geosynchronous orbit above Earth is quite high, (35,900 kilometres above the surface) the height of the elevator would be twice the distance from the surface to the point of geosynchronous orbit. This gives Earth's orbital tethers (because the same rule would apply to them all) an average height of 70,000 kilometres above the planet's surface.

Space elevators vary in size and shape, but they are all typically composed of the same raw material. Meshed together as a complex composite of intertwining nanofibers, these ingredients form a series of massive cords and rings several hundred meters wide. They bind to a grounded set of polycrete anchors larger than most buildings which hold the elevator's structure in place while the planet spins on its axis. The zenith of the elevator, commonly known as the "orbital" or "terminus" is then pulled taut by the planet's rotational inertia, sliding into geosynchronous orbit thousands of kilometres above the planet.

The UNSC utilizes several designs of space elevators. Many space elevators, such as the Mombasa Tether, consist of a single central tether reaching into space, surrounded by additional strands and massive support rings. The lower part of the tether is surrounded by an additional support frame rising several hundred meters from ground level. The Quito Space Tether and Corbulo Academy's space tether utilize a similar design. Harvest's high-capacity orbital elevator system, built in the early 26th century, consisted of seven separate strands of carbon nanofiber, attached to the orbital station Tiara.

A space tether's climber system is often modular, and different types of containers, such as regular cargo containers, maintenance cars, or "Welcome Wagons" used to transport personnel can be used to move on the elevator strands. In heavy-duty cargo elevator systems such as the Tiara, the cargo containers are also compatible with ground-based MagLev train lines and they can be effectively converted into freighters by attaching a propulsion pod to them on the top of the tether.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Ugh** **, Info dumps!**

 **Basically, Human tech hasn't changed too much, though there have been some slight improvements. If you're willing to read through my info dump, then maybe you can spot them. If not, and you want to be lazy and skip through, then here's a brief overview: Smart AIs can live up to 70 to 80 years, Human starships travel through slipspace at 31.5 LYPD, Humans can communicate across interstellar distances in real-time, rotating artificial gravity has been phased out in favor of Covenant-style artificial gravity, and as mentioned in the previous chapter, improved starship reactors.**

 **In the next chapter, I'll go over military tech, such as MJOLNIR and Semi-Powered Assault Armour (SPAA).**


	4. Chapter 4: UNSC Military Equipment

**CODEX**

 **UNSC Military Equipment**

 **UNSC Army Battle Dress Uniform (BDU)**

Troopers sport fatigues with varying camouflage patterns depending on the operation; the most widely used is a light woodland scheme, though desert pattern fatigues are also common. The armor plating used by the Army is generally colored dust brown, grey or olive drab. The main components of the armor include an armored vest, a CH252 Combat Helmet, shoulder pauldrons, thigh armor, and in some cases, shin guards.

On the waist is a utility belt for storing equipment. Troopers commonly wear different types of backpacks, including radios and utility webbing. Troopers often wear various helmet attachments, including tactical eyepieces, flashlights, HESA-E sensors, External Command Network Modules, and a Tactical/LRP chest piece with three ammo pouches.

 **UNSC Army Rangers BDU**

Similar to the BDU utilized by the Insurrection-era ODSTs, the armor can protect the user from ballistics with its ceramic-titanium composite armor plating. It features a HUD and communications system, notably the Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance (VISR), to give more situational awareness to the wearer. The Ranger BDU excels at providing more protection against small arms fire than any other body armor utilized by Army forces, and also excels at allowing a trooper to conduct Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) with little chance of being detected in dark locations.

The Ranger body suit is comprised of several different layers and materials. The inner layer of the undersuit is made of Kevlar to aid in protecting the wearer from small arms fire. The inner layer contains a heating and cooling system which regulates temperatures to keep the user warm or cool depending on the weather conditions - the heating and cooling system can also match infrared signatures of the current weather as well to allow a Ranger to go undetected in hostile locations.

As with the helmet, the chest plate is composed of titanium and ceramic materials. It covers the chest from the bottom of the clavicle to the bottom of the rib cage, with another segment protecting the abdomen. Some body suits feature an armored collar that protects the wearer's neck, complementing the chest plate's coverage. The shin and knees are well protected with titanium-ceramic guards, as are the forearms.

 **UNSC Marine Corps Semi-Powered Assault Armor**

An offshoot of the old Semi-Powered Infiltration Armour (SPI) used by the Spartan IIIs, the SPA armor is standard equipment for all UNSC Marines. It is part legionnaire mail, part tactical body armour. It is more advanced than Ranger BDU, but less advanced, less powerful and much cheaper than MJOLNIR armor.

It has full body armour and a heads-up display. It's also equipped with a cushioning layer of liquid Nano-crystals that provide more ballistic protection than three centimetres of Kevlar diamond weave, without the bulk.

SPA armor can also be equipped with attachments which enhance the abilities of the wearer. These attachments include a jet pack, used to jump higher than humanly possible and manoeuvre in mid-air. A thruster pack, which allows the user to move quickly and aggressively in combat, whether closing the gap between the user and an enemy or finding cover. In addition, the outer layer of armor plates can be removed and replaced with photo-reactive panels, which mimic the surrounding textures, a primitive, but effective form of camouflage.

 **MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor**

A technologically advanced combat exoskeleton system designed to vastly improve the strength, speed, agility, reflexes and durability of a Spartan Supersoldier. Among the Citadel Races, the MJOLNIR armour is recognized as one of Humanity's greatest accomplishments, alongside the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine and the Orbital Space Tethers.

MJOLNIR is the most advanced piece of tactical military hardware in Human hands, each suit alone costing as much as a small starship, at first. Decades of improvements has scaled down the costs to manageable levels. Spanning over three decades of development, MJOLNIR encompassed more than just a suit of armor, but as a pioneering effort to shatter current technological barriers. In its final iteration, MJOLNIR is a highly advanced suit of armor capable of further enhancing the Spartans' physical abilities while serving as a platform that can house an artificial intelligence.

The battlesuit is a sealed system, capable of extra-vehicular activity for a limited amount of time or operations in a toxic atmosphere. It is hardened against EMP and radiation, and has filters that are completely effective at removing toxins and bacteria from local atmosphere. Between the external armor and the internal padding is the most devastating weapon the suit carries: a layer of polymerized lithium niobocene, a liquid metal crystal that deforms along a preferred axis when exposed to an electric charge, Woven by molecular tools into a capillary system, this layer is amorphous, yet amplifies force, doubling lifting capacity and increasing reaction time by a factor of five.

Rather than being a traditional suit of armor, the MJOLNIR works on a biomechanical level, allowing for direct user-controlled movement. It is a fully neurally-linked machine, the user's thoughts move the machine, and the machine in return moves the user. The suit also has other features that enhances the wearer's abilities, such as numerous clips, belts and magnetic holsters for attachment of additional weapons and ammunition; an advanced HUD, with ammunition count, a target reticule, waypoints, a radio uplink for communications, health monitors, and other helpful data.

Some MJOLNIR battlesuits, those typically worn by officers, possess super-dense optical computer memory. This revolutionary solid-based crystalline layer forms a network within the suit's frame of proper size and capability of housing the types of artificial intelligence usually reserved for starships. Essentially a piggyback system, an AI can be delivered to the suit via a data crystal chip storage device no larger than a personal credit card. The AI's personality and processing matrices can be carried by the armor and in conjunction with the user, can neurally link with a being that has nearly unfettered control over mathematics, information and body control.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **All right, for all you lazy people, here's the abridged version of my codex entry:**

 **Army soldiers are equipped with the BDU utilized by Marines in the Halo games. The Rangers (who are the special forces division of the Army) are equipped with ODST armor. Marines use an altered version of SPI used by the Spartan IIIs in Ghosts of Onyx (along with some armor abilities). And the Spartans, of course, use MJOLNIR. But here's something I haven't mentioned yet: the ODSTs (who are the special forces of the Marine Corps) have been replaced completely by the Spartan Division. It's like what Major Silva said on Halo: the Flood, it's Natural Selection. The Spartans now, as of First Contact, are the Fifth generation, and are as numerous as the ODSTs were; I think, at about 60,000. With Spartan IIs, we had dozens. With Spartan IIIs, we had hundreds. With Spartan IVs, we had thousands. And I think you get my point, which is that it's an upward progression, and as the MJOLNIR technology is improved upon, it becomes cheaper and more streamlined, while the Bio-chemical augmentations also improve and become safer to use on adults, so kidnapping kids isn't necessary anymore.**

 **Moving on, I want to ask a question: how big is Citadel Space? In most Halo/Mass Effect crossover fics I've read, they seem to get the short end of the stick, in comparison to the UNSC. Most people seem to be under the impression that they have some hundreds of planets, and because they haven't been expanding their territory since the Rachni Wars, their space seems to be small. But form what I've gleaned from in-game dialogue, Citadel Space seems to have a population of trillions. Do we have any in-game or EU reference to the size of Citadel Space, or can I do my own thing? I want to be as accurate as possible.**

 **From what I understand about Mass Effect, is that Mass Relays allow the Citadel races to colonize star clusters (which are generally 30 light years and containing dozens or hundreds of star systems), which are scattered far apart from each other all across the galaxy. A part of the Reaper's trap, to control the relays from the Citadel and strand colonies from each other. How many planets would these star clusters have? Well, for reference, let's take a look at UNSC space. Due to how long it takes for a UNSC ship to travel from Reach to Harvest, at 2.625 LYPD, I'd say that Human space spans about 250 to 300 light years from Sol. And there are 800 habitable worlds contained within this region of the galaxy, so a star cluster might contain several dozen planets.**

 **Now, Humans colonized 800 planets, scattered across less than 300 light years in over 200 years of exploring the galaxy at 2.625 LYPD. Now, before the Rachni wars, the Citadel races spent 500 years opening relays and exploring star clusters and colonizing worlds. How many star clusters did they explore and colonize? Me, I think they might have less than 5000 planets, and this is with all races combined. And I think it's reasonable.**

 **Does anyone agree? Or do you have any canon references that dispute my assumptions about Citadel Space?**


	5. Chapter 5: UNSC Navy

**CODEX**

 **UNSC Navy**

A branch of the UNSC Armed Forces responsible mostly for naval warfare and operations in space, though they still operate in the oceans with their terrestrial arm. Its roles include ship-to-ship combat; orbital bombardment; the deployment of atmospheric and space fighters, and the delivery of UNSC Marines into combat.

As of 2597, the UNSC has a Navy of 2,000 warships; yet, despite being smaller than the combined forces of the Citadel Council, Human vessels are far superior in terms of raw firepower and durability. As such, the UNSC Navy is considered to be one of the greatest military powers in the known galaxy.

 **Magnetic Accelerator Cannon**

Also known as the MAC, it is the primary ship-to-ship weapon used by UNSC warships and Orbital Defence Platforms.

The theory behind the operation of a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon is the same as that of a coilgun. The system is a linear motor consisting of a series of magnetic coils which accelerate a metal projectile through a barrel up to high velocity. This technology is not to be confused with that of a railgun,( in which a projectile is electromagnetically accelerated between two conducting rails), or the Mass Accelerator Cannon (which uses Element Zero to lighten a slug by mass effect fields, permitting extreme projectile velocities).

The firing process uses electromagnetism to fire a metal slug at high velocity. An extremely large amount of current is put through the first solenoid, (coil of conducting wire), which creates a strong magnetic field that attracts the slug. As the slug passes into the solenoid, the solenoid is quickly turned off and the second solenoid, which is closer to the muzzle, turns on, which attracts the now higher-velocity metal slug just like the first solenoid, and the process, is carried on.

A shipboard MAC draws power from the ship's reactor and requires a charge of the weapon's magnetic coils in order to be fired. The time it takes to bring the MAC's systems to full charge on a UNSC vessel is the deciding factor during in-combat use. Thus, while a vessel may not run out of ammunition for a long time, (depending on the size/weight of the slugs and the capacity of the ship), a commanding officer has to carefully analyse the situation of a battle and use his shots strategically. The weapon could be fired even when not at full charge, but the velocity of the projectile will be greatly diminished.

Payloads used in the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon weapon delivery system alternates with the platform which the weapon is hosted; warship models tend to use ferric, ferrous, or depleted uranium cores whereas orbital platform models commonly use ferric tungsten rounds. The size of a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon is such that it is normally an integral component of a warship's structure. Orbital defense platforms are built around the massive weapon. A dedicated targeting computer or an AI is typically required to aim or fire the cannon, as the projectiles are unguided.

MAC systems are roughly divided between "Heavy Coil" and "Light Coil" guns. Light coil guns are generally found on frigates and destroyers, and heavy coil guns are found on cruisers, carriers and Orbital Defence Platforms.

 **Light Coil Guns**

As mentioned before, a shipboard MAC draws power from the ship's reactor and requires a charge of the weapon's magnetic coils in order to be fired. The more power that's channelled into the magnetic coils, the greater the velocity of the round, and the higher the kinetic energy is released upon the slug's impact with the target. The time it takes to bring the MAC's systems to full charge on a UNSC warship is dependent on the size and power output of the ship's reactor in question; for instance, it generally takes a frigate or destroyer three minutes for the MAC to reach 1005 charge, whereas larger Capital ships, with their bigger reactors, will take a minute and a half.

 **Frigate MAC**

18 seconds charge time: 36km/s. 76.8 kilotons of TNT

36 seconds charge time: 72km/s. 153.6 kilotons of TNT

54 seconds charge time: 108km/s. 230.4 kilotons of TNT

72 seconds charge time: 144km/s. 307.2 kilotons of TNT

90 seconds charge time: 180km/s. 384 kilotons of TNT

108 seconds charge time: 216km/s. 460.8 kilotons of TNT

126 seconds charge time: 252km/s. 537.6 kilotons of TNT

144 seconds charge time: 288km/s. 614.4 kilotons of TNT

162 seconds charge time: 324km/s. 691.2 kilotons of TNT

180 seconds charge time: 360km/s. 768 kilotons of TNT

 **Destroyer MAC**

18 seconds charge time: 54km/s. 115.2 kilotons of TNT

36 seconds charge time: 108km/s. 230.4 kilotons of TNT

54 seconds charge time: 162km/s. 345.6 kilotons of TNT

72 seconds charge time: 216km/s. 460.8 kilotons of TNT

90 seconds charge time: 270km/s. 576 kilotons of TNT

108 seconds charge time: 324km/s. 691.2 kilotons of TNT

126 seconds charge time: 378km/s. 806.4 kilotons of TNT

144 seconds charge time: 432km/s. 921.6 kilotons of TNT

162 seconds charge time: 486km/s. 1.0368 Megatons of TNT

180 seconds charge time: 540km/s. 1.152 megatons of TNT

 **Heavy Coil**

Because the reactors on cruiser are bigger, they provide more power to the MAC, and so, the charge time for the magnetic coils is faster by a factor of two. In addition, the light cruiser MAC is unique in that it has two firing modes: single shot and burst fire. For example, if the MAC is at 50% charge, then it could fire a single shot at 435km/s, or it could five shots at 87km/s.

 **Light cruiser MAC**

9 seconds charge time: 87km/s. 185.8 kilotons of TNT

18 seconds charge time: 174km/s. 371.6 kilotons of TNT

27 seconds charge time: 261km/s. 557.4 kilotons of TNT

36 seconds charge time: 348km/s. 743.2 kilotons of TNT

45 seconds charge time: 435km/s. 929 kilotons of TNT

54 seconds charge time: 522km/s. 1.1148 megatons of TNT

63 seconds charge time: 609km/s. 1.3006 megatons of TNT

72 seconds charge time: 696km/s. 1.6864 megatons of TNT

81 seconds charge time: 783km/s. 1.6722 megatons of TNT

90 seconds charge time: 870km/s. 1.858 megatons of TNT

 **Heavy Cruiser MAC**

Maximum velocity after 90 seconds of charge time: 15,000km/s

Payload: 600-ton slug

Yield: 12.9 Gigatons of TNT

Maximum effective range: 150,000kms

 **Light Carrier MAC**

Maximum velocity after 90 seconds of charge time: 5,000km/s

Payload: 600-ton slug

Yield: 4.3 gigatons of TNT

Maximum effective range: 50,000kms

 **Heavy Carrier MAC**

Maximum velocity after 90 seconds of charge time: 30,000km/s

Payload: 600-ton slug

Yield: 25.8 gigatons of TNT

Maximum effective range: 300,000kms

 **Archer Missiles**

A ship-to-ship weapon utilized by the UNSC Navy. Warships usually carry large numbers of Archer missiles to complement their Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. Archer pods usually carry around two dozen missiles each; frigates and destroyers carry thirty pods, though larger ships carry more pods, sometimes hundreds. While individual Archers are vulnerable to point-defense weapons and have limited destructive potential, their sheer numbers make up for their lack of individual effectiveness.

 **Nuclear Weapons**

The UNSC has a long history with Nuclear Weapons, using them as early as the Interplanetary War, though they were since then considered to be impractical for space warfare, as the vacuum of space severely reduces the explosive yield and the resulting electromagnetic pulse. However, they saw increased use during the Insurrection, as both the UNSC and NCA would use nukes to bombard colonies from orbit.

The most notorious nuclear weapon ever made by Man is the Nova Bomb, a strategic device and undoubtable the most powerful weapon ever built by the UNSC. A single Nova Bomb has enough power to destroy an entire planet, as well as orbiting moons and naval fleets. Only one Nova Bomb has ever been deployed, used to destroy the Insurrectionists stronghold, A Baoa Qu, and while more have been built, its use is highly regulated.

 **UNSC ship types**

 **UNSC Frigate:** Although they do not possess the same degree of armor, armament and firepower of destroyers, frigates are lighter, and more maneuverable. They are also cheaper to produce, allowing greater numbers to be fielded. The UNSC has twelve-hundred frigates currently in service.

 **UNSC Destroyers:** Fast, maneuverable, and designed for long-term endurance, destroyers are intended to escort larger vessels, such as cruisers and carriers. The UNSC has six-hundred destroyers currently in service.

 **UNSC Cruisers:** A heavily armed and armored warship designed with an emphasis on weaponry and armor over fighter complements. The UNSC has one-hundred and eighty cruisers currently in service.

 **UNSC Carriers:** Enormous vessels designed to carry fighter complements and serves as fleet command flagships. The UNSC has twenty Carriers currently in service.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I've been itching to get to my version of the MAC for a while. Basically, the amount of damage a MAC can dish out is proportionate to the payload, and the velocity of the round (which is, in turn, dictated by how much power is channeled into the magnetic coils). Naturally, bigger ships will have longer MAC guns and bigger, more powerful reactors. The bigger the MAC, the faster the velocity of the round, and the bigger the reactor, the faster you can charge the weapon. The ODPs have a MAC that's 800 metres long, and the groundside generators can charge fast enough for the rounds to fire at 12,000km/s. I figured that the big ships, like the Heavy Cruisers and Carriers, would have massive MACs, as well as bigger reactors. So, while they are small in number, the amount of firepower that they can bring to bear against an enemy is truly extraordinary.**

 **One other thing; about the armor plating of UNSC ships. I my fic, Citadel ships are like sleek and shiny Porsches, while being fast. Whereas my UNSC ships will be like giant flying panzer tanks in comparison. So, while they don't have shields yet, the amount of damage that Titanium-A armor will be able to endure will certainly compensate. Of course, it may seem a little ridiculous, but I don't think that the UNSC would have neglected to create armor that can withstand some amount of damage from their MACs, especially when the Innies began to match them in weapons. Seriously, the Citadel Council are going to piss themselves when they discover how much planet-cracking firepower the Humans are carrying around. It really is no surprise that the Insurrection could have resulted in the collapse of Human civilization, when you consider that they had these unbelievable powerful warships at their disposal, while throwing nukes around like confetti.**

 **Reviewer comments**

 **Lord NV: Yes, the Citadel Races are paranoid about expansion and exploration, but only in the aftermath of the Rachni Wars. Before then, the Salarians were activating relays all over the place for over 500 years, which is really a long time. How many star clusters did they get access to, and how many habitable worlds did this give them access to? Not only that, but when you consider that the galaxy has more than 200 billion star systems, less than 1% of the Galaxy sounds like quite a lot. If i'm right about Human Space being contained within 300 light years of Sol, than the UNSC has explored less than 1% of the galaxy as well.**

 **Fallen-Ryu: That is the advantage of the slipspace drive, in that it allows Humans to travel from star to star, setting up colonies around Earth. The colonies form a buffer zone between Earth and an invading enemy, as theoretically, a hostile force will need to get through the colonies first, before reaching Earth (which is what happened in the Human-Covenant War). As for the Citadel Races, they don't need to protect every planet, they just need to station fleets in the star systems with Mass Relays, so they can blockade an enemy attacking from the Relay. And if another colony elsewhere in the star cluster is under attack, a battle group can be dispatched quickly and sent to defend the settlement within a few hours or days.**

 **Once the First Contact War blows over, Harvest will become the center for relations and trade between Humanity and the Council, so kudos for you guessing my intentions. Neither will the UNSC go colonize the Attican Traverse and the Skyllian Verge; seriously, Sol is smack dab in the middle of the Orion Arm, while the Covenant controls half of the Orion Arm, from the Core to Human Space (at least, that's what I think). That leaves the other half of the Orion Arm, leading from Human Space, outwards along the Arm. I don't really get why most Halo/ME writers think of the AT and SV as the only piece of galactic real estate available for Humanity. Besides, why create colonies and outposts on the other end of the galaxy, when you can establish colonies next-door?**

 **Now, here is a question for all of you: exactly how many of the UNSC's worlds were Terra-formed, and how many are natural? Me, I think that most of the Inner Colonies were Terra-formed (Reach was naturally habitable, but still required slight Terra-forming), which is why I think it took decades for them to be settled, but the Outer Colonies were mostly natural worlds, but spread across large swaths of space, whereas the Inner Colonies were more closely clustered together.**

 **This is my opinion, and I could be wrong. But because of how vague canon details tend to be, it's easy let my imagination run wild. I think that thousands of worlds for ALL Citadel Races is a reasonable number (this includes the Terminus Systems, because while they may be independent of the Council, they are still of the same races). Until Bioware comes out with some concrete facts, it will remain up to our imaginations, but I don't think those facts are forthcoming. Game developers tend to keep canon details vague, so that they don't paint themselves into a storytelling corner, which is reasonable.**

 **Thanks for the Reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6: Citadel Races

**CODEX**

 **Citadel Council Races**

 **Asari Republics**

 **Homeworld: Thessia**

 **Colonies:** 1,082

 **Total Population:** 83.5 Billion

 **Asari Republic Navy:** 690 warships

 **History**

In the year 730 BCE, the Asari utilized the Element Zero discovered in their home system to achieve FTL, whereupon they began to explore the local star systems in their home cluster, settling on 82 planets. After a hundred years of exploration and colonization, they discovered the Mass Relays, which led them to the Citadel, found in 580 BCE.

Sixty years later, the Salarians made first contact with the Asari, and together the two species agreed to found the Citadel Council in 500 BCE, a galactic, interspecies government that would come to unite several other space-faring species. This year (500 BCE) marks the beginning of the GST (galactic standard timeline).

 **Government**

The Asari governmental structure, known as the Asari Republics, is relatively broad; the Asari came late to the notion of world government. For centuries, their homeworld of Thessia was dotted with loose confederates of great republican cities. Since the Asari culture values consensus and accommodation, there was very little impetus to form larger principalities. Rather than hoard resources, the Asari bartered freely. Rather than attack one another over different philosophies, they sought to understand each other. Although, while the Asari are generally incapable of full-scale warfare like the Turians, Krogan, and Humans, this didn't stop them from occasionally sending in commandoes to raid hostile states when the need came.

Aside from their Council representative, the Asari have no politicians or elections, but a free-wheeling, all-inclusive legislature that citizens can participate in at will. In modern times, the Asari act as the diplomatic arm of the Citadel.

 **Military**

The Asari military resembles a collection of tribal warrior bands, with no national structure. Each community organizes its units as the locals see fit, and elect a leader to command them. Biotic abilities are a requirement for joining the military.

While fluid and mobile, Asari can't stand up in a firestorm the way a Krogan, Human or Turian could. Since their units are small and lack heavy armor and support weapons, they are almost incapable of fighting a conventional war. So, they typically undertake special operations missions, such as ambush, infiltration and assassination.

The Asari provide a small, but highly advanced and powerful Navy to the Citadel Defence Force; 21 dreadnoughts, 49 cruisers, and 620 frigates.

 **Salarian Union**

 **Homeworld:** Sur'kesh

 **Colonies:** 762

 **Total Population:** 3.6 trillion

 **Salarian Union Navy:** 1,290 warships

 **History**

In 1270 BCE, when the Salarians achieved spaceflight and began exploring their home system, they uncovered a Prothean data cache on Sur'kesh's moon, and their technology leapt forward hundreds of years. With FTL capable ships, the Salarians began exploring the local star systems, colonizing dozens of planets, of which Aegehr, Mannovi, and Jaeto will remain at the heart of Salarian territory for millennia.

At this time, the Salarians were a divided race, with many competing civilizations ruled by dalatrasses attempting to advance themselves, leading to a great many interstellar wars, ending only ten years before first contact with the Asari, leading to the formation of the Salarian Union and the founding of the Citadel Council.

 **Government**

The Salarian Union is a labyrinthine web of matrilineal bloodlines, with political alliances formed through interbreeding, similar to the noble families of Earth's Medieval Europe. The Government consists of fiefdoms, baronies, duchies, planets, and marches. Each area is ruled by a dalatrass and represents an increasing amount of territory and prestige within the Salarian political web.

 **Military**

The Salarians believe that a war should be won before it begins. The unquestioned superiority of their intelligence services allows them to use their small military to maximum effectiveness. Well before fighting breaks out, they possess complete knowledge of their enemy's positions, intentions, and timetable.

Their powerful intelligence network is spearheaded by the Special Tasks Group (STG), which is responsible for monitoring developing situations and taking necessary actions, usually without the shackles of traditional laws and procedures. In every war they have fought, they have struck first and without warning.

The Salarian Union provides 1,290 warships to the CDF; 16 dreadnoughts, 242 cruisers, 688 frigates, and 344 corvettes.

 **Turian Hierarchy**

 **Homeworld: Palaven**

 **Colonies:** 378

 **Total population:** 3.726 trillion

 **Turian Hierarchy Navy:** 3,060 warships

 **History**

In the year 780 BCE, the Turians discovered FTL and the Mass Relays, which they used to colonize 36 planets; due to the rarity of dextro-amino worlds, these colonies were difficult and time-consuming to find, spread far out in the galaxy, across five star clusters. At the time the Asari and Salarians were forming the Citadel Council, the Turians became embroiled in a bitter civil war.

The Unification War began with hostilities between the isolated and xenophobic colonies. These colonies were ruled by chieftains, many of whom sought to impose their own ideologies and dictatorships on neighbouring colonies. Colonists began wearing emblems or facial markings to differentiate themselves from other colonies.

When war finally broke out, Palaven declared neutrality and refused to get involved. After sixty-two years of fighting, the belligerent colonies had exhausted themselves, at which point Palaven intervened, and after ten years of fighting, the war came to an end. Peace was restored after seventy-two years of conflict, with the Turian Hierarchy forming, although animosity between the colonies would continue for decades.

 **Government**

The Turian government is a hierarchal meritocracy. While it has great potential for misuse, this is tempered by the civic duty and personal responsibility Turians learn during their childhood. At the top are the Primarchs, who each rule over a colonization cluster. They vote on matters of national importance. They otherwise maintain a "hands-off" policy, trusting citizens on each level below them to do their jobs competently.

 **Military**

Turians are noted for their formidable discipline. Enlisted are thoroughly trained and stay calm under fire. Even if their lines are broken, they will fall back in order, setting ambushes as they go. Turians are conscripted at the age of fifteen, where they are trained for a year before being assigned to a field unit, while officers train longer. Most serve until the age of thirty, at which point they become a part of the reserves.

In Turian wars, citizen resistance is very common and so, the Turian Hierarchy makes use of "execution squads", known as Harstatim. Without the Harstatim, it would take years for a planetary population to be pacified.

The Turian Hierarchy has the largest Navy in the galaxy, with 3,060 warships; 39 dreadnoughts, 204 heavy cruisers, 408 light cruisers, 803 heavy frigates, and 1,606 light frigates.

 **Batarian Hegemony**

 **Homeworld:** Kar'shan

 **Colonies:** 825

 **Total population:** 1.1 trillion

 **Batarian Hegemony Navy:** 510 warships

 **History**

Like most other Citadel races, the Batarians discovered Prothean ruins shortly after achieving spaceflight. It is a point of racial pride that, since the ruins were damaged by earthquakes, they had less to go on than other space-faring races. The Citadel Council granted the Batarians an embassy on the Citadel sometime after the Volus did, a century after contact.

Despite being welcomed to the galactic community, the Batarians' continued practice of slavery was a source of contention. In addition, Hegemony aggression provoked several crises in galactic relations relations in the millennia of their membership. But, due to the Hegemony's sub-par Navy and military, they are mostly seen as an ignorable problem; also, Batarian colonization of the Attican Traverse and Skyllian Verge has formed a buffer zone between Citadel Space and the Terminus Systems, so the Batarians are at least tolerated.

 **Government**

The Batarian Hegemony is a highly authoritarian and oppressive government with a rigid caste system, with slavery being a common practice. With the formation of the Terminus Systems, the Batarians were permitted by the Council to practice slaver runs in the lawless regions, so as to divert slave raids away from Council Space; this has made slavery common in the Terminus Systems.

 **Military**

The hegemony has a rather small Navy, which is considered to be sub-par to others in the galactic community. The majority of Batarian soldiers are used to control the massive slave population, a necessary measure as slave uprisings are a common occurrence.

The Batarian Navy is larger than most other associates races, at 510 warships; 1 dreadnought, 51 cruisers, and 458 frigates.

 **Vol Protectorate**

 **Homeworld:** Irune

 **Colonies:** 92

 **Total population:** 576 billion

 **Vol Protectorate Navy:** 306 warships

 **History**

The Volus were the first race to be granted an embassy on the Citadel. Their mercantile prowess made them instrumental in developing a stable galactic economy. They authored the Unified Banking Act, which established the credit as the standard currency of interstellar trade. After first contact was made with the Turian Hierarchy, the Volus petitioned them for client status.

 **Government**

Rather than being a fully sovereign government in its own right, the protectorate is a client state of the Turian Hierarchy. The Volus pay a tax to the hierarchy and defers to them in all foreign policy matters.

 **Military**

The Volus are highly dependent on the Turians for defence, although they do provide some auxiliary troops to the Hierarchy. They have 30 cruisers, and 276 frigates.

 **Courts of Dekuuna**

 **Homeworld:** Dekuuna

 **Colonies:** 46

 **Total population:** 12 billion

 **COD Navy:** 172 warships

 **History**

Prehistoric Elcor travelled across Dekuuna in large tribal groups. These groups were likely led by the oldest and most experienced Elcor. This may have later developed into the Elcor culture of Elders, whose wisdom could keep the tribe safe provided they followed the correct guidance.

According to their ambassador, the Elcor were just making their first forays into space travel when the Asari made contact with them. With their help, the Elcor discovered the closest mass relay and, within a single lifetime, had established a regular trade route to the Citadel. The Elcor quickly became one of the more prominent species in Citadel space, though they still have to share an embassy with the Volus.

 **Government**

The Elcor government is known as the Courts of Dekuuna. The Elcor follow the recommendations of their Elders, who spend years poring over ancient records of jurisprudence to determine the precedent that should be followed in any given situation. The Elders record closely argued and minutely detailed instructions on what course to follow in any theoretical crisis. These are filed away in huge libraries of data discs and are consulted when needed. This makes Elcor policies very predictable, provided one has done a great deal of research.

 **Military**

Because of their slow, conservative psyches, Elcor are not suitable for making the spur-of-the-moment decisions necessary in combat situations. Instead, they rely on sophisticated VI combat systems. These war machines can choose between thousands of gambits developed and polished over centuries by Elcor strategists.

The slow speed and immense size of the Elcor makes them easy targets. Fortunately, their durable hide allows them to shrug off most incoming fire. Elcor warriors don't carry small arms; their broad shoulders serve as a stable platform for the same size of weapons typically mounted on Alliance fighting vehicles. According to an Elcor diplomat on the Citadel, Elcor soldiers are called "living tanks" by their enemies, among other less flattering names.

The Elcor do not maintain a large fleet of military starships. This seems to be due to a combination of their conservative nature preventing hasty rushes to war, and their relatively-isolated and self-sufficient economy that would never encounter a trade dispute serious enough to threaten war over. They do have several cruisers and carriers at their disposal, though their real value is in troop transport.

The Elcor have a Navy of one-hundred and seventy warships; 2 dreadnoughts, 34 cruisers, and 136 frigates.

 **Illuminated Primacy**

 **Homeworld:** Kahje

 **Colonies:** 75

 **Total population:** Unknown

 **Military**

The Hanar navy is relatively small, but is supplemented by Drell combat specialists: accomplished spies, saboteurs, and assassins trained from a young age. Kahje and the colonies are protected by an automated planetary defence system. While the system is effective against most attackers, it is vulnerable to internal sabotage, as only moderate government clearance is necessary to access it and a single computer virus can quickly compromise the entire network.

 **Drell**

 **History**

The Drell ancestors emerged from dry, rocky deserts on the barren world of Rakhana. Eight centuries ago, the already-arid Drell homeworld began its swift descent into lifelessness due to disastrous industrial expansion. At the time, the Drell lacked interstellar flight capacity, and with their population bursting at eleven billion, they faced certain doom.

It was around the 1980s CE that the Hanar made first contact with the Drell race. In the following ten years, the Hanar would transport a total of 375,000 Drell to the Hanar homeworld, Kahje. The remaining billions left on Rakhana would perish on their dying planet, warring against each other for diminishing resources. The Drell now thrive co-existing with the Hanar and have been a part of galactic civilization for roughly two centuries.

 **Quarian Conclave**

 **Homeworld:** Rannoch

 **Colonies:** 76

 **Navy:** 1,800 warships

 **History**

First arising from their homeworld in 520 BCE, the Quarians settled seventy-six dextro-amino worlds in the Perseus Veil, while establishing resource outposts on eight-hundred and thirty-six levo-amino worlds, before making contact with the Citadel Council and being inducted as an associate race.

A technologically savvy species, the Quarians created the Geth in the late 1850s GST, to serve as labourers and tools of war. The Quarians kept their programming as limited as that of any VI, nothing close to an AI, remaining mindful of the Citadel Council's laws against artificial intelligence. But as the Quarians gradually modified the Geth to do more complex tasks, developing a sophisticated neural network, these changes altered the Geth to such an extent that they became sentient. One day, a Geth unit began asking its overseer questions about the nature of its existence.

Panicked, the Quarian government ordered the immediate termination of all Geth in the hopes of preventing a revolution. Many Quarians did not want to oppose the Geth, but were forced to give up or terminate their Geth servants. After the Quarian government declared martial law on Rannoch, those who sympathized with the Geth were outnumbered, and an indeterminate number of them were either detained or killed.

The Quarians severely underestimated the power and sophistication of the Geth's neural network. The Geth reacted to defend themselves, and the resulting confrontation erupted into a planetwide war. Billions of Quarians died, and the survivors were eventually driven from their Homeworld, and later, their colonies. The only reason Quarians were able to escape was because after they had fled to a certain distance, the Geth no longer recognized them as a threat and ceased pursuit.

After being refused aid by the Citadel Council, the Quarians fled the Perseus Veil in what remained of their fleet. Shortly thereafter, the Council stripped the Quarians of their embassy as punishment for their carelessness, though a treaty was agreed upon forbidding an attack on the Geth in order to avoid provoking them. Ever since, the Quarians have drifted from system to system, searching for resources to sustain the Migrant Fleet and also for a new world to colonize. They even retain hopes of someday reclaiming Rannoch from the Geth.

In the year 2186 GST, the Special Projects arm of the Migrant Fleet developed a series of effective countermeasures against the Geth, giving them a strategic edge in terms of military strength. The Admiralty Board voted in favor of launching an assault to retake Rannoch, and the Quarians began arming all of the ships in their Civilian Fleet.

The Quarians opened the war by launching precision strikes on four Geth systems and driving them back to Tikkun, the Quarian home system. The fleet also attacked a Dyson sphere that the Geth had been building, the culmination of centuries of work intended to unite all Geth into a single optimized network that would maximize their processing power.

After several weeks of fleet engagements, the Geth were completely purged from the Perseus Veil, and the Quarians had succeeded in retaking Rannoch and their old colonies. The Quarians than began the mammoth task of resettling Rannoch, while fending off raiding parties from pirates and slavers from the Terminus Systems, no longer cowed by the threat of the Geth. By the year 2657 GST, the Rannoch's population has reached 5.7 billion, with 300 million Quarians inhabiting the colonies.

The Quarians' embassy on the Citadel has been re-established as of 2609 GST, but tensions between Quarians and the other races linger as the Quarians remember the scorn and harsh treatment heaped on them during their exile, while many of the Citadel races are angry at the violation of their agreement to not provoke the Geth, as a failure to defeat them could have resulted in another galactic war.

 **Military**

The Quarians have a large fleet of 1,800 warships, most of which were repurposed from the ships of the Migrant Fleet; 8 dreadnoughts, 358 cruisers, and 1,434 frigates.

 **Krogan Protectorate**

 **Homeworld:** Tuchanka

 **Colonies:** 396

 **Total Population:** 8.6 billion

 **Navy:** 208 warships

 **History**

Ancient Krogan society was once rich with cultural, architectural, and artistic accomplishments. However, the Krogan birth rate exploded despite the natural limits of their predatory Homeworld once they achieved industrialization. Technology made life "too easy" for them, so when they looked for new challenges they found those in each other. Wars were fought over dwindling resources as the Krogan expanded.

Four thousand years ago, at the dawn of the Krogan nuclear age, battles to claim the small pockets of territory capable of sustaining life escalated into full scale global war. Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed, transforming Tuchanka into a radioactive wasteland. The Krogan were reduced to primitive warring clans struggling to survive a nuclear winter of their own creation, a state that continued until they were discovered by the Salarians two thousand years later.

The Krogan were liberated from their primitive state by the Salarians, who "culturally uplifted" the race by giving them advanced technology and relocating them to a planet not cursed with lethal levels of radiation, toxins or deadly predators. The Salarians even gave the Krogan the means to stabilize Tuchanka's atmosphere by means of the Shroud.

But the Salarian intervention was not without an ulterior motive. At the time the Citadel was engaged in a prolonged galactic war with the Rachni, a race of intelligent space-faring insects. The Salarians hoped the Krogan would join the Citadel forces as soldiers to stand against an otherwise unstoppable foe. The plan worked to perfection: within two generations the rapidly breeding Krogan had the numbers not only to drive back the advancing Rachni, but the ability to endure the harsh conditions of the Rachni worlds. They were able to pursue them to their home worlds, find the Rachni queens, and eradicate the entire species.

For a brief period the Krogan were hailed as the saviors of the galaxy and were given not only the conquered Rachni worlds but other planets in Citadel space to colonise, in gratitude for their help. The Citadel Council even commissioned a statue for the Presidium—the Krogan Monument—to honor the Krogan soldiers who died defending Citadel space.

But without the harsh conditions of Tuchanka to keep their numbers in check, the Krogan population swelled to unprecedented numbers. Overcrowded and running out of resources, the Krogan spread out to forcibly claim other worlds—worlds already inhabited by races loyal to the Citadel. There was always "just one more world" needed. The final straw was when the Krogan began settling the Asari colony of Lusia. When the Council ordered them to leave, Overlord Kredak, the Krogan ambassador, stormed out of the Chambers, daring the Citadel races to take their worlds back. War broke out soon afterward.

The resultant Krogan Rebellions continued for nearly three centuries. The Krogan sustained massive casualties, but their incredible birth rate kept their population steadily increasing. Victory seemed inevitable. In desperation, the Council turned to the recently discovered Turian Hierarchy for aid. The Turians unleashed the Genophage on the Krogan home worlds: a terrifying bio-weapon engineered by the Salarians. The Genophage caused near total infant mortality in the Krogan species, with only 1 birth in every 1000 producing live offspring.

No longer able to replenish their numbers, the Krogan were forced to accept terms of surrender. For their role in quelling the Krogan Rebellions, the Turians were rewarded with a seat on the Citadel Council. The Krogan, on the other hand, spent the next twelve-hudred years suffering from the incurable effects of the Genophage.

Over the twelve-hundred years after the deployment of the Genophage, Krogan numbers have steadily declined, leaving them a scattered and dying people. Some try bizarre treatments for the Genophage, including testicle transplants. But, faced with the certainty of their extinction as a species, most Krogan have become individualistic and completely self-interested. They typically serve as mercenaries for hire to the highest bidder, though many still resent and despise the Citadel races that condemned them to their tragic fate.

However, in the year 2183 GST, famed Krogan mercenary, Urdnot Wrex, returned to Tuchanka and became the leader of Clan Urdnot. He believed that the Genophage wasn't what was killing the Krogan people; rather, it is their violent nature and warrior culture that was causing their dwindling numbers, and if the Krogan people were to just get their act together, band together and focus on breeding, than they would survive as a species and a civilization.

Wrex instituted a number of reforms, uniting a large portion of Krogan under Clan Urdnot to combat the Genophage and strengthen the Krogan. By providing a neutral ground where discussions and exchanges can take place, Wrex had made sure that, in return for their loyalty, he will protect those clans' fertile females, making it unwise for anyone to attack him. Despite facing opposition from traditionalists, eventually, wrex managed to pacify much of Tuchanka under his control.

In the year 2548 GST, the United Clans of Tuchanka, now under the control of Overlord Urdnot Grunt (after Wrex's passing), petitioned the Citadel Council for an embassy, as well as permission to colonize new worlds. Initially hesitant, the Turian Hierarchy offered the Krogan access to hundreds of levo-amino worlds in their Core Star Clusters, in return for admission into the Hierarchy as a client race. The Krogan agreed, and have since colonized 396 planets, resulting in a new Golden Age for the Krogan people, the resource wealth of the colonies flows back to Tuchanka, fuelling great works of industry, commerce, and art.

 **Government**

Krogan are divided into numerous clans. Membership in a clan allows a Krogan to own property, join the army and apply to serve under a battlemaster. Young Krogan undergo a rite of passage that is overseen by a shaman respective to the clan the Krogan wishes to join. These clans are united into a single world government, the Krogan Protectorate, which mediates disputes between the clans, while managing the colonies. As a client race of the Turians, the Krogan must defer to the Hierarchy in matters of foreign policy.

 **Military**

As a client race of the Turian Hierarchy, the Krogan send millions of their young men every year to serve as auxiliary forces for the Turians; their most prominent role is that of shock troopers, sent in to soften a target up, before the Turians themselves charge in to attack. The Krogan have a small Navy of 208 warships; 8 dreadnoughts, 40 cruisers, and 160 frigates.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Well, this was certainly a pain in the ass to get out. Something about the number of naturally-habitable worlds that I forgot to mention last time: in canon, the Ancient Humans had settled and terra-formed tens of thousands of worlds in their 1,100,000 years of space exploration, and while the Forerunners may have dismantled their civilization, I think they would have kept the worlds intact, because the worlds that are good for Humans are also goo for them; you know, because of their genetic similarities. Even though in my fic, the Humans are Forerunners, this is also provides another explanation: the center of the Forerunners' empire was in the Orion Arm, so naturally, the worlds found there would be suitable for them and their descendants. Remember, the Halo rings wiped out sentient life, but it kept the worlds intact, just waiting for the right races (Humans, Asari, Salarians, Batarians, etc.) to claim them. And because the Forerunners' empire spanned the whole galaxy, this could account for the abundance of Earth-like worlds.**

 **As for dextro-amino worlds, I think there is 1 of them for every 12 levo-amino world. So, in the Perseus Veil, the Quarians got 76 dextro-amino planets and 836 levo-amino planets, while the Turians got 36 dextro-amino planets and 396 levo-amino planets in their core star clusters. For the last 1700 years, the Asari and Salarians have been trying to get to those planets, but the Turians were reluctant to hand them worlds in the core of their the Krogan come along, and the Turians decide, "sure, you can have those worlds, but your government and race must come under Turian authority." A reasonable deal, eh?**

 **Well, so long for now and don't forget: read and review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Citadel Space and Terminus

**CODEX**

 **Citadel Space, the Terminus Systems, and the Yahg Empire**

 **Citadel**

The Citadel is an ancient deep-space station, presumably constructed by the Protheans. Since the Prothean extinction, numerous species have come to call the Citadel home. It serves as the political, cultural, and financial capital of the galactic community. To represent their interests, most species maintain embassies on the Presidium, the Citadel's inner ring.

The Citadel Tower, in the center of the Presidium, holds the Citadel Council chambers. Council affairs often have far-reaching effects on the rest of the galactic community. Five arms, known as the wards, extend from the Presidium. Their inner surfaces have been built into cities, populated by millions of inhabitants from across the galaxy.

The Citadel is virtually indestructible. If attacked, the station can close its arms to form a solid, impregnable shell. For as long as the station has existed, an enigmatic race called the keepers has maintained it.

 **Citadel Council**

The Council is an executive committee composed of representatives from the Asari Republics, the Turian Hierarchy, and the Salarian Union. Though they have no official power over the independent governments of other species, the Council's decisions carry great weight throughout the galaxy. No single Council race is strong enough to defy the other two, and all have a vested interest in compromise and cooperation.

Each of the council species has general characteristics associated with the various aspects of governing the galaxy. The Asari are typically seen as diplomats and mediators. The Salarians gather intelligence and information. The Turians provide the bulk of the military and peacekeeping forces.

Any species granted an embassy on the Citadel is considered an associate member, bound by the accords of the Citadel Conventions. Associate members may bring issues to the attention of the Council, though they have no input on the decision.

 **Citadel Space**

Citadel space is an unofficial term referring to any region of space controlled by a species that acknowledge the authority of the Citadel Council. At first glance, it appears this territory encompasses most of the galaxy. In reality, however, less than 1% of the stars have been explored.

Even mass-effect-FTL drive is slow relative to the volume of the galaxy. Empty space and systems without suitable drive discharge sites are barriers to exploration. Only the mass relays allow ships to jump hundreds of light years in an instant, the key to expanding across an otherwise impassable galaxy.

Whenever a new relay is activated, the destination system is rapidly developed. From that hub, FTL drive is used to expand to nearby star systems. The result is a number of densely-developed star clusters thinly spread across the vast expanse of space, connected by the mass relay network.

 **Spectres**

Spectres are agents from the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance and answer only to the Citadel Council. They are elite military operatives, granted the authority to deal with threats to peace and stability in whatever way they deem necessary.

They operate independently or in groups of two or three. Some are empathetic peacekeepers, resolving disputes through diplomacy. Others are cold-blooded assassins, ruthlessly dispatching problem individuals. All get the job done, one way or another, often operating outside of the bounds of galactic law.

The Spectres were founded after the Salarians joined the Council. For many years, they operated in secrecy, as back-room "problem solvers". Only after the Krogan Rebellions did their activities become publicized. Assignment of a Spectre is less contentious than military deployment, but makes it clear that the Council is concerned about a situation.

 **Citadel Conventions**

These diplomatic talks occurred in the wake of the Krogan Rebellions, as a response to the destruction of the conflict and an attempt to distance the Council from the brutal Krogan warfare.

The Conventions regulate the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction. A WMD causes environmental alteration to a world. A bomb that produces a large crater is not considered a WMD; a bomb that causes a "nuclear winter" is.

Use of WMD is forbidden on "garden" worlds like Earth, with ecospheres that can readily support a population. If a habitable world is destroyed, it will not be replaced for millions of years. The Conventions do not forbid the use of WMD on hostile worlds or in sealed space-station environments. Many militaries continue to develop and maintain stockpiles.

The Conventions graded Weapons of Mass Destruction into tiers of concern. Tier I is the greatest threat to galactic peace.

TIER I: Large kinetic impacters, such as asteroid drops or de-orbited space stations. Effectively free and available in any system (in the form of debris left over from planetary accretion), kinetic impacters are the weapons of choice for terrorists and "third galaxy" nations.

TIER II: Uncontrolled self-replicating weapons, such as nanotechnology, viral or bacteriological organisms, "Von Neumann devices", and destructive computer viruses. These weapons can lie dormant for millennia, waiting for a careless visitor to carry them on to another world.

TIER III: Large energy-burst weapons such as nuclear or antimatter warheads.

TIER IV: Alien species deliberately introduced to crowd out native forms necessary for the health of an ecosystem. Ecological tampering can take years to bear fruit, making it difficult to prove.

However, the introduction of the UNSC to the galactic community has changed how the Citadel races perceive the use of WMD on garden worlds; due to their adeptness at terra-forming, the UNSC can simply clean up the radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons, as well as repair any environmental damage caused by WMDs. It is costly and time-consuming, but it can be done; as such, planetary destruction is part of the UNSCs space-warfare doctrine." If all else fails, bounce them back to the Stone Age!"

Such a casual attitude towards the use of WMDs, as well as the UNSCs refusal to sign the Citadel Conventions, is a source of great contention between the two states, and has led to much Asari propagandist artwork; one such work, called "The Humans are building a new Galaxy", depicts demonic Humans with red eyes standing over the burnt corpses of the many Citadel races, with a nuclear fireball in the background.

 **Treaty of Farixen**

Due to the destructive potential of dreadnoughts, the Council races agreed at the Farixen Naval Conference to fix a ratio of dreadnought construction between themselves. At the top of pyramid is the peacekeeping Turian fleet. Below theTurians are the other Council races, currently the Asari and the Salarians. Council associate races are at the bottom. The ratio of Turian to Council to associate dreadnoughts is 5:3:1, for every dreadnought an associate race is permitted to build, the Asari have three, and the Turians five.

Once again, as with the Citadel Conventions, the Treaty of Farixen is also mostly invalidated with the arrival of the UNSC on the galactic stage. The destructive power of dreadnoughts is nothing compared to the planet-cracking firepower of the UNSC flagship, Infinity; which is the only dreadnought built by Humans. Even the UNSCs cruisers and carriers have enough firepower in their nuclear arsenal and ship-board MACs to lay waste to entire colonies, not to mention the frigates and destroyers which are the smallest of vessels in the UNSC fleet, but are still superior to Citadel dreadnoughts. The only advantage the CDF dreadnoughts and other warships have against UNSC frigates and destroyers is the longer-range of their MACs, and their rate of fire, which is mitigated by the durability of UNSC warship armor.

 **The Terminus Systems**

The Terminus Systems are located on the far side of the Attican Traverse, beyond the space administered by the Citadel Council. These systems are populated by a loose affiliation of minor governments, united only in their refusal to acknowledge the political authority of the Council or adhere to the Citadel Conventions.

Their independence comes at a price; the Terminus is fraught with conflict. War among the various species is common, as governments and dictators constantly rise and fall. The region is a haven for illegal activities, particularly piracy and the slave trade. The prevalence of Batarian criminal gangs has led to the Batarian language becoming a "lingua franca" in the Terminus. The Terminus Systems have no central government, but the Omega station serves as a trade capital.

At least once a year, a fleet from the Terminus invades the nearby Attican Traverse. These attacks are typically small raids against poorly-defended colonies. The Council rarely retaliates, as sending patrols into the Terminus Systems could unify the disparate species against their common foe, triggering a long and costly war.

 **History**

Before the Rachni Wars, the Terminus Systems were the frontier of Citadel Space, a gold mine of Element Zero and other valuable minerals, but due to the distance from Inner Council Space, the authority of the Citadel Council was rather loose, as well as their military presence. This made the frontier the perfect place for pirates to establish bases and ply their trade.

During the Rachni Wars, it was the Terminus Systems that bore the brunt, with the Citadel Council providing just enough military forces to keep them from overwhelming the frontier, while they devoted most of their time and resources fortifying Inner Council Space. When the Krogan entered the conflict and drove the Rachni from the Terminus Systems and back to their Homeworld, the Citadel Council quickly re-established their authority over the frontier, though the colonists would continue to harbour resentment towards the Citadel Council for centuries to come.

When the Krogan Rebellions broke out, much of the fighting was centred around Inner Council Space; as such, the Citadel Council pulled out any and all military assets in the Terminus Systems to defend the Core Systems. The fronter colonies took advantage of the turmoil of the Krogan Rebellions to secede from Council Space; by the time the Rebellions were at an end, the Terminus Systems were too powerful for the Citadel Council to reassert its authority, and so, the Terminus Systems were legally granted their independence.

 **The Yahg Empire**

 **Homeworld:** Parnack

 **Known Colonies:** 512

 **Total Population:** 325 billion

 **Imperial Navy:** 1,100 warships

 **History**

Arising from their Homeworld in 1825 GST, they discovered a Prothean cache of Element Zero, the basis of all Mass Effect technology. Unlike the races of the Citadel, there were no data archives providing instructions on how to utilize Eezo, how to build starships, the principles behind FTL, or how to operate mass relays; in fact, there was no mass relay in their home system, and they didn't discover any until 300 years after exploring the galaxy. The Yahg had to experiment and discover how to properly harness Eezo.

After colonizing eighty-four planets in their Home Star Cluster, they set their sights on exploring the regions beyond. This was a significant hurdle to overcome, as Mass Effect FTL Drives accumulate static electrical charge when a vessel has been in FTL flight for some time. Eventually, after two-and-a-half days, it must be discharged into a planet's magnetic field. As such, the star systems between mass relays, the "Dead Zones" are inaccessible for exploration and colonization.

This is where the Yahg got creative, with an innovative method of exploration called "Star-Hopping." Basically, the Yahg would use long-range telescopes to observe the star systems surrounding their Home Cluster and identify the systems with planets suitable for serving as drive discharge sites. Yahg starships could then travel dozens of light years by "hopping" from star to star, and establishing refuelling stations along the way; it's costly and time-consuming, but it's worked well for Yahg, whose fledgling interstellar empire now spans 512 colony-worlds, across 150 light years of space.

In the year 2125 GST, the Yahg first discovered a mass relay on the very edge of their territory, and used it to travel to the Attican Traverse, where they discovered a Batarian colony, Zhuligg. The Yahg, being a highly aggressive and imperialistic civilization, invaded and conquered the colony. The Batarian Hegemony petitioned the Citadel Council for assistance in driving off the invaders, and a multi-racial task-force of one-hundred and seventeen warships was sent in to relieve the colony.

Ever since, there have been a number of raids, border clashes, and brushfire conflicts between the Citadel Council and Yahg Empire, in the Attican Traverse, Skyllian Verge, Perseus Veil, and the Terminus Systems. When the Krogan accepted client status in the Hierarchy, Krogan auxiliary troops were stationed on colonies bordering the Attican Traverse, to defend against Yahg incursion.

 **Culture**

Yahg society is built around a pack mentality. A group of Yahg will not cooperate until a single leader has attained dominance through either social manoeuvring or brute force. Once the leader is established, the defeated Yahg do not hold a grudge and former rivals serve their new superior loyally. Their government is set up in a similar manner, with the strongest and most capable ruling as the Emperor.

 **Military**

The Imperial Navy is quite large, but still too small to stand against the combined forces of the Citadel Council. They have 1,100 warships; 110 dreadnoughts, 198 cruisers, 264 destroyers, 396 frigates, and 132 corvettes.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **You know, I've always wondered about the Terminus Systems: how did they come to be, and why would the Citadel Council allow them to grow powerful enough to challenge them? This is my idea of how they came about. What do you think?**

 **Say, what do you all think about the Yahg's Star-Hopping technique? Too wild and crazy, or feasible? I originally came up with the concept a year or so back, when I was planning to write an Mass Effect AU fic about Humans discovering Eezo on Mars, but no Archives, and no access to the mass relays. That fic was scrapped, but I decided to transfer some ideas to this fic. The interesting thing about Halo and Mass Effect, is that the Humans are innovative, while the aliens (Covenant and Citadel Council) are imitative. When I was planning this fic, I was thinking: Why should Humans be the only innovative species? Isn't that Human-Wanking? So, I decided to make the Yahg an innovative people, and because they are rather aggressive and ambitious, their presence on the Galactic stage would shake the Citadel Council out of their complacency, while also giving the Turians a good reason to take on the Krogan as a Protectorate. I mean, seriously? Have you seen the Yahg? If you're going to fight them, you'll definitely want the Krogan on your side.**

 **Of course, the Krogan's annexation isn't flawless, as there is still quite a lot of animosity between them, but the fact is, the Krogan aren't stupid: Tuchanka is still a radioactive pile of dirt, and if they want to thrive as a civilization, they need to colonize. And that means reconciling with the Citadel Races. But they're not the only ones: the Quarians are also trying to get into the good graces of the Citadel Council, and reclaim their former glory. Basically, the 500 years after contact with the Yahg is a period of reconciliation between the Citadel Council and it's outcast members.**

 **Reviewer comments**

 **Six samurai of dragon order: Basically, the Krogan don't like small ships; too cramped.**

 **Prince Sheogorath: Most likely, the Reapers did terra-form worlds after their harvests; afterall, if the Relays don't lead to an abundance of habitable worlds, then the Citadel races might try to find ways of gaining independence from the relays.**

 **Unidentified Guest: Rangers are a part of the UNSC Army, meaning, that they are grounded on colonies and have no relationship with the Navy; as such, no drop pods.**

 **Lord NV: I'd like to think that some Geth did survive the purges, and have retreated to unknown regions of the the way I see, they've grown bitter towards their creators and other organic races, so no alliances with the UNSC. As for the CODEX about political relations between the UNSC and Citadel Council, I won't be doing that until last.**

 **Anywho, does anyone know how I can get my story onto the Halo/Mass Effect Crossover Page, or onto the Alternate First Contact Page?**

 **So long, and thanks for all the fish!**

 **R and R, please!**


	8. Chapter 8: Citadel Council Starships

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, or Halo.**

* * *

 **CODEX**

 **Starship Classifications, and Space Combat**

 **FTL Drive**

Faster-than-light drives use element zero cores to reduce the mass of a ship, allowing higher rates of acceleration. This effectively raises the speed of light within the mass effect field, allowing high speed travel with negligible relativistic time dilation effects.

Starships still require conventional thrusters (chemical rockets, commercial fusion torch, economy ion engine, or military antiproton drive) in addition to the FTL drive core. With only a core, a ship has no motive power.

The amount of Element Zero and power required for a drive increases exponentially to the mass being moved and the degree it is being lightened. Very massive ships or very high speeds are prohibitively expensive.

If the field collapses while the ship is moving at faster-than-light speeds, the effects are catastrophic. The ship is snapped back to sublight velocity, the enormous excess energy shed in the form of lethal Cherenkov radiation.

 **Mass Accelerator Cannons**

Mass accelerators propel solid metal slugs via electromagnetic attraction and repulsion. A slug lightened by a mass effect field can be accelerated to extremely high speeds, permitting previously unattainable projectile velocities.

The primary determinant of a mass accelerator's destructive power is length. The longer the barrel, the longer the slug can be accelerated, the higher the slug's final velocity, and therefore the greater its kinetic impact. Slugs are designed to squash or shatter on impact, increasing the energy they transfer to its target. Without collapsibility, slugs would punch through their targets while inflicting only minimal damage.

Rather than being mounted on the exterior, starship guns are housed inside hulls and visible only as gun portholes from outside.

A ship's main gun is a large spinal-mount weapon running 80% of the hull's length. While possessing destructive power equal to that of tactical nuclear weapons, main guns are difficult to aim. Because ships must be able to point their bows almost directly at their targets, main guns are best used for long-range "bombardment" fire. Approximately 40% of the hull's width, broadside guns inflict less damage and can be mounted with greater numbers and more flexibility.

However, mass accelerators produce recoil equal to their impact energy. While the mass effect fields suspending the rounds mitigate the recoil, recoil shock can still rattle crews and damage systems.

 **Disruptor Torpedoes**

Disruptor torpedoes are powered projectiles with warheads that create random and unstable mass effect fields when triggered. These fields warp space-time in a localized area. The rapid asymmetrical mass changes cause the target to rip itself apart.

In flight, torpedoes use a mass-increasing field, making them too massive for enemy kinetic barriers to repulse. The extra mass gives the torpedoes a very sluggish acceleration, making them easy prey for defensive GARDIAN weapons. As a result, torpedoes have to be launched at very close range.

Torpedoes are the main anti-ship weapon used by fighters. They are launched from point-blank range in "ripple-fire" waves reminiscent of the ancient Calliope rocket artillery launchers (thus their popular nickname "Callies"). By saturating defensive GARDIAN systems with multiple targets, at least a few will get through.

 **Kinetic Barriers**

Kinetic barriers, colloquially called "shields", provide protection against most mass accelerator weapons. Whether on a starship or a soldier's suit of armor, the basic principle remains the same.

Kinetic barriers are repulsive mass effect fields projected from tiny emitters. These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. This affords protection from bullets and other dangerous projectiles, but still allows the user to sit down without knocking away their chair.

The shielding afforded by kinetic barriers does not protect against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation.

 **GUARDIAN Lasers**

A ships' General ARea Defense Integration Anti-spacecraft Network (GARDIAN) consists of anti-missile/anti-fighter laser turrets on the exterior hull. Because these are under computer control, the gunnery control officer needs to do little beyond turn the system on and designate targets as hostile.

Since lasers move at light speed, they cannot be dodged by anything moving at non-relativistic speeds. Unless the beam is aimed poorly, it will always hit its target. In the early stages of a battle, the GARDIAN fire is 100% accurate. It is not 100% lethal, but it doesn't have to be. Damaged fighters must break off for repairs.

Lasers are limited by diffraction. The beams "spread out", decreasing the energy density (watts per m2) the weapon can place on a target. Any high-powered laser is a short-ranged weapon.

GARDIAN networks have another limitation: heat. Weapons-grade lasers require "cool-down" time, during which heat is transferred to sinks or radiators. As lasers fire, heat builds within them, reducing damage, range, and accuracy.

Fighters attack in swarms. The first few WILL be hit by GARDIAN, but as the battle continues, the effects of laser overheat allow the attacks to press ever closer to the ship. Constant use will burn out the laser.

GARDIAN lasers typically operate in infrared frequencies. Shorter frequencies would offer superior stopping power and range, but degradation of focal arrays and mirrors would make them expensive to maintain, and most prefer mechanical reliability over leading-edge performance where lives are concerned. Salarians, however, use near-ultraviolet frequency lasers with six times the range, believing that having additional time to shoot down incoming missiles is more important.

Lasers are not blocked by the kinetic barriers of capital ships. However, the range of lasers limits their use to rare "knife fight"-range ship-to-ship combat.

 **Frigate**

Frigates are light escort and scouting vessels. They often have extensive GARDIAN systems to provide anti-fighter screening for capital ships, and carry a squad of marines for security and groundside duty. Unlike larger vessels, frigates are able to land on planets.

The most important role filled by frigates is reconnaissance. Sensors, unlike ships and communications employing the mass effect, are limited to the speed of light. Subsequently, a stationary observer can only detect a vessel one light-year away when its light arrives at the observer's location, one year after leaving said vessel.

Because faster-than-light attackers always arrive before defenders can detect them with luminal sensors, attackers can always surprise defenders. For defense, fleets surround themselves with spheres of scouting frigates scanning for enemy ships and transmitting warnings to the main body.

Frigates achieve high FTL cruise speeds because of their high-performance drives. They also have proportionally larger thrusters and lighter design mass, allowing them greater maneuverability. In combat, speed and maneuverability make frigates immune to long-range fire of larger vessels.

In fleet combat, frigates are organized into "wolf pack" flotillas of four to six. Wolf packs speed through enemy formations, hunting enemy vessels whose kinetic barriers have been taken down by fighter-launched disruptor torpedoes. The wolf pack circle-strafes vulnerable targets, using their superior speed and maneuverability to evade return fire.

Frigates are generally 300 metres in length, 96 metres in width, and 85.7 metres in height. The standard ship-board MAC of a frigate is 240 metres long, and can accelerate one 20kg slug at 850km/s, with a maximum effective range of 8,500kms, and an explosive yield of 8 kilotons of TNT. The Kinetic Barriers of a standard frigate can withstand 80 kilotons of TNT before failing.

 **Cruisers**

Cruisers are middle-weight combatants, faster than dreadnoughts, and more heavily-armed than frigates. Cruisers are the standard patrol unit, and often lead frigate flotillas. Cruisers cannot land on medium or high-gravity worlds, but do possess the ability to land on low-gravity planets.

Cruiser-weight starships are the standard combat unit encountered away from large naval bases, the "poor bloody infantry" of most fleets. Nimble scouting frigates have neither the punch nor the stamina to stand up to serious combat, and the mighty dreadnoughts are a strategic resource, carefully hoarded and committed to the most critical battles.

Cruisers perform routine independent "show the flag" patrols in settled systems and lead flotillas of frigates in small engagements, such as pirate suppression campaigns. In major fleet engagements, cruiser squadrons support the dreadnought battle line by screening their flanks against enemies attempting to maneuver for a main gun "bow shot" from their vulnerable broadsides.

Criusers are generally 450 metres in length, 144 metres in width, and 128.5 metres in height. The standard ship-board MAC of a cruiser is 360 metres long, and can accelerate one 20kg slug at 1,275km/s, with a maximum effective range of 12,750kms, and an explosive yield of 12 kilotons of TNT. The kinetic barriers of a standard cruiser can withstand 120 kilotons of TNT before failing.

 **Dreadnoughts**

Dreadnoughts are kilometer-long capital ships mounting heavy, long-range firepower. They are only deployed for the most vital missions. A dreadnought's power lies in the length of its main gun. Standard dreadnoughts are generally 1,000 metres in length, 320 metres in width, and 285.7 metres in height. The standard ship-board MAC of a dreadnought is 800 metres long, and can accelerate one twenty-kilogram slug to at 4025 km/s (1.3% the speed of light) every two seconds. Each slug has the kinetic energy of about 38 kilotons of TNT. A dreadnought's kinetic barriers can withstand 380 kilotons of TNT before failing.

The Treaty of Farixen stipulates the amount of dreadnoughts a navy may own, with the Turian peacekeeping fleet being allowed the most. As of 2657 GST, the Turians had 39 dreadnoughts, the Asari had 21, and the Salarians had 16. As of 2185, the dreadnought count was 39 Turian, 20 Asari, and 16 Salarian.

Dreadnoughts are so large that it is impossible to safely land them on a planet, and must discharge their drive cores into the magnetic field of a planet while in orbit. The decks of large vessels are arranged perpendicular to the ship's axis of thrust; so that the "top" decks are towards the front of the ship and the "bottom" decks are towards the rear of the ship.

 **Corvettes**

Reverse-engineered from salvaged Yahg Imperial warships, the corvette is a reconnaissance vessel which utilizes state-of-the-art stealth technology.

Most ships generate tremendous heat that is easily detectable against the absolute-zero background of space. The corvette, however, temporarily sinks this heat within its hull. Because of exterior hull refrigeration, the ship can travel undetected for hours, or drift passively for days of covert observation. That heat-sinking carries the risk of cooking the crew alive if the stored heat is not eventually radiated.

Also contributing to stealth is the corvette's revolutionary Tantalus drive, a mass effect core double the standard size. The Tantalus generates mass concentrations that the Normandy "falls into," allowing it to move without the use of heat-emitting thrusters.

 **Space Combat**

Ship mobility dominates space combat; the primary objective is to align the mass accelerator along the bow with the opposing vessel's broadside. Battles typically play out as artillery duels fought at ranges measured in thousands of kilometers, though assault through defended mass relays often occur at "knife fight" ranges as close as a few dozen kilometers.

Most ship-to-ship engagements are skirmishes between patrol vessels of cruiser weight and below, with dreadnoughts and carriers only deployed in full-scale fleet actions. Battles in open space are short and often inconclusive, as the weaker opponent generally disengages.

Once a ship enters FTL flight the combat is effectively over; there are no sensors capable of tracking them, or weapons capable of damaging them. The only way to guarantee an enemy will stand and fight is to attack a location they have a vested interest in, such as a settled world or a strategically-important mass relay.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I know that it was the HSA and Turian Hierarchy that co-developed the Normandy, but I wanted the Citadel Races to have the advantage of stealth tech, so I figured, let it be something taken from the Yahg, the innovators of Mass Effect tech. The Yahg will also have access to unique tech unavailable to the Citadel, such as Thanix Cannons, Cyclonic Barrier Tech, and larger warships. Basically, they're on par with canon Reapers (though, the Reapers would outnumber them; they're at 20,000 ships, I think).**

 **The thing about Mass Accelerators, is that they have a longer range than UNSC warships, as well as a higher rate of fire. The way I see it, they can pose a threat to UNSC ships, so long as they fight smart, keep their distance and wisely use their own advantages, like speed and maneuverability.**

 **Reviewer comments**

 **Unknown guest: Yes, the UNSC do have access to Forerunner tech, but the Council (the ones writing the Codex) don't know that. "Chuckles evilly".**

 **Another Unknown Guest: Humans aren't interested in settling new colonies or exploring new regions of the galaxy; at least, not yet. Right now, the UNSC just wants to repair the damage to the infrastructure of their already existing colonies.**

 **So long, and thanks for the reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9: Space Warfare

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Halo... (sobs).**

* * *

 **CODEX**

 **Space Warfare Doctrines**

 **UNSC**

Space warfare is the conduct of conflict between belligerents in space. The scale of space warfare ranges from exoatmospheric fighter skirmishes and boarding actions to battles between fleets of warships, which often decide the outcome of a given engagement or conflict.

 **History**

Space warfare evolved from engagements on a world's surface or in its atmosphere. With the invention of human space travel in the 20th century, many organizations and nations began to consider or invest in possible military operations conducted in space. In the late 21st century, humanity had become an interplanetary-faring species with colonies established in their home system. The new outlet of travel and exploration would eventually lead to conflict. The dawn of the Interplanetary War and its associated engagements saw the formation of the United Nations Space Command's Navy following the Mars Campaign. The campaign marked a turning-point in space warfare through dedicated utilizations of Marine forces in ground assaults and ship-boarding operations that would follow during the war.

In the late 23rd century, humanity invented and began to utilize the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine on their spacecraft, allowing human ships to travel through slipstream space to reach destinations light-years away. The UNSC Navy only conducted low-level operations, such as anti-piracy actions, until the Insurrection, which forced the Navy to develop a modern space warfare doctrine. Following the Callisto Incident of 2494, numerous small-scale space engagements occurred between the UNSC Navy and Insurrectionists across human space. During the early decades of the Insurrection, these battles were mostly one-sided affairs, as the rebels' ramshackle ships couldn't quite compete with the UNSCs Navy. After the Breadbasket Campaigns, however, the New Colonial Alliance had built a fleet that was on par with the UNSC Navy, forcing them to adapt.

 **Technology**

As with warfare in general, the level of a given polity's technological advancement plays a considerable role in space engagements, and a technological edge can easily overcome superior tactics once the technological gap is substantial enough.

 **Weaponry**

Human starship weapons follow a similar trend as their ground-based armament and are largely based around ballistic impacts and chemical reactions.

They are, for the most part, projectile-based, consisting of guided missiles with variable conventional or nuclear warhead yields or magnetically accelerated unguided projectiles. In combat, UNSC warships employ Magnetic Accelerator Cannons as their primary armaments, powerful coilguns built into the superstructure of the ship capable of accelerating a ferric tungsten shell to a significant fraction of the speed of light. These are supplemented by a range of missile types, from smaller-yield ship-to-ship Archer, Rapier and Howler missiles to more powerful nuclear Hyperion, Rudra, FENRIS, HAVOK or Shiva missiles.

The velocity of a MAC round can be adjusted to deliver ordnance from orbit against planetary targets, though the still-powerful kinetic energy they impart on impact means their use is limited. UNSC prowlers are the only known UNSC warship class to use pulse laser turrets, though as stealth ships their primary offensive role is their ability to lay HORNET space mines.

 **Defences**

UNSC warships use various forms of Titanium-A armor (an enhanced form of titanium) as their exterior battleplate. Titanium-A armor is extremely durable, capable of shrugging off multiple kinetic strikes even from a Citadel Council dreadnought. UNSC warships use a number of railgun point defence systems, designed to target and destroy single ships and missiles. UNSC point defence, among other tasks, is usually handled by onboard ship AIs, capable of performing threat assessment and target designation faster than humans can react.

UNSC orbital defence platforms are anchored to a geosynchronous orbit and are armed with a powerful "super" MAC gun powered by groundside generators. ODPs are used to defend strategically-significant colonies.

 **Battle Doctrine**

Space battles are fought exclusively within the context of normal space-time, although precision slipspace jumps and faster velocities within the slipstream offer increased tactical maneuvering options, as well as other strategic benefits (as demonstrated by the series of UNSC victories during Operation: Infinity at the height of the Insurrection).

The vessels involved are typically directed by individuals with baseline reflexes delivering tactical commands verbally, placing certain upper limits on the speeds at which ships and fleets can respond to threats and changing tactical situations; under the control of an AI, a warship becomes far more combat-effective due to the constructs' significantly faster reactions and information processing capabilities.

 **Interspecies Warfare Doctrine**

With the end of the First Contact War, the UNSC had to prepare for the possibility of an interstellar war with, not just the Citadel Council, but the Terminus Systems, the Yahg Empire, and any other unknown galactic civilization.

Studying the history of the Citadel Council, specifically, the Rachni Wars and Krogan Rebellions, it was quickly realized that fighting a war of conquest across hundreds of worlds would take centuries, and occupying colonies and pacifying their populations would result in unacceptable casualties. As such, in a war of conquest against another galactic power, the most practical strategy would be to focus on naval battles; destroy enemy space assets, gain orbital superiority over a world, and initiate Nuclear Bombardment, laying waste to enemy settlements and inducing a nuclear winter on the planet.

UNSC fleets would focus on identifying and targeting strategically significant colonies, first and foremost, while destroying outlying, fringe settlements would be a secondary concern. They would continue to send in fleets to attack colony after colony, until they reach the Homeworld, or political centre, where they destroy any defending fleet, and finally, invade and occupy the world. After the war's end, UNSC colonial prospectors would inspect the blasted worlds of the UNSCs former enemy, and if they have any value, clean up the radioactive fallout, repair any damage to the ecosystem, terra-form and colonize the planet.

Such a strategy should ensure that an interstellar war across hundreds of worlds would last dozens of years, rather than hundreds. While bombarding colonies and wiping out any life from them would seem, on the surface, to be barbaric, it is considered by the UNSC to be a practical strategy.

In the event of Human Space coming under attack from a technologically superior enemy, the UNSC would enforce Martial Law across Earth and the Colonies, implement conscription, and upgrade to a war economy. Order 237, a UNSC directive which would prevent an invading enemy from discovering the location of Earth or any other major Human settlement, would also be put into effect. In practice, it would prevent a conquering alien civilization from discovering Earth; it would forbid retreating vessels from setting a direct slipspace course to any Human population centre (as the UNSC can track slipspace travel vectors and calculate the ship's destination, it would be prudent to assume that the hypothetical enemy would have the same capability). The Order also states that to prevent capture, any military or civilian vessel, in the event of an emergency evacuation, is to self-destruct, after wiping all data matrices, to prevent the advance of the enemy through Human Space.

With Order 237 implemented, the vastness of space would become Humanity's greatest ally, as the invading enemy would need to devote time and resources to search for Human colonies across hundreds of light-years of space, time which the UNSC can use to learn about their enemy: they can board and capture enemy warships, track retreating enemy vessels and learn the general direction of the enemy's territory, send prowlers into enemy space and identify significant colonies, outposts, and ship manufacturing facilities. With key targets identified, the UNSC can send fleets to raid enemy strongholds, bombarding colonies with Nuclear Weapons, maybe even use Nova Bombs against highly defended worlds.

With this strategy of intel denial and lightning raids into enemy territory, the UNSC can, theoretically, bog the enemy down in a decades-long war of attrition. And every year gained, is a year that the UNSC can study the enemy's strengths and weakness, and develop new weapons and defences to counteract and even-out the technological disparity, as well as develop a strategy to end the war, rather than prolong it.

 **Citadel Council and Terminus Systems Space Warfare Doctrine**

Shells lofted by surface navies crash back to earth when their acceleration is overwhelmed by gravity and air resistance. In space, a projectile has unlimited range; it will keep moving until it hits something.

Practical gunnery range is determined by the velocity of the attacker's ordnance and the maneuverability of the target. Beyond a certain range, a small ship's ability to dodge trumps a larger attacker's projectile speed. The longest-ranged combat occurs between dreadnoughts, whose projectiles have the highest velocity but are the least maneuverable. The shortest-range combat is between frigates, which have the slowest projectile velocities and highest maneuverability.

Opposing dreadnoughts open with a main gun artillery duel at EXTREME ranges of tens of thousands of kilometers. The fleets close, maintaining evasive lateral motion while keeping their bow guns facing the enemy. Fighters are launched and attempt to close to disruptor torpedo range. Cautious admirals weaken the enemy with ranged fire and fighter strikes before committing to close action. Aggressive commanders advance so cruisers and frigates can engage.

At LONG range, the main guns of cruisers become useful. Friendly interceptors engage enemy fighters until the attackers enter the range of ship-based GARDIAN fire. Dreadnoughts fire from the rear, screened by smaller ships. Commanders must decide whether to commit to a general melee or retreat into FTL.

At MEDIUM range, ships can use broadside guns. Fleets intermingle, and it becomes difficult to retreat in order. Ships with damaged kinetic barriers are vulnerable to wolf pack frigate flotillas that speed through the battle space.

Only fighters and frigates enter CLOSE 'knife fight' ranges of 10 or fewer kilometers. Fighters loose their disruptor torpedoes, bringing down a ship's kinetic barriers and allowing it to be swarmed by frigates. GARDIAN lasers become viable weapons, swatting down fighters and boiling away warship armor.

Neither dreadnoughts nor cruisers can use their main guns at close range; laying the bow on a moving target becomes impossible. Superheated thruster exhaust becomes a hazard.

 **Combat Endurance**

Heat limits the length and intensity of ship-to-ship combat. Starships generate enormous heat when they fire high-energy weapons, perform maneuvering burns, and run on-board combat electronics.

In combat, warships produce heat more quickly than they can disperse it. As heat builds within a vessel, the crewed spaces become increasingly uncomfortable. Before the heat reaches lethal levels, a ship must win or retreat by entering FTL. After an FTL run, the ship halts, shuts down non-essential systems, and activates the heat radiation gear.

Combat endurance varies by ship design and by the battle's location. Battles in the deep cold of interstellar space can go on for some time. Engagements close to a star are brief. Since habitable worlds are usually close to a star, battles over them are usually more frantic.

 **Planetary Assaults**

Planetary assaults are complicated if the target is a habitable garden world; the attackers cannot approach the defenders straight on.

The Citadel Conventions prohibit the use of large kinetic impactors against habitable worlds. In a straight-on attack, any misses plough into the planet behind the defending fleet. If the defenders position themselves between the attackers and the planet, they can fire at will while the attacker risks hitting the planet.

Successful assaults on garden worlds hinge upon up-to-date intelligence. Attackers need to determine where the enemy's defences are, so they may approach from an angle that allows them to fire with no collateral damage. Note this is not necessary for hostile worlds.

Once control of orbit has been lost, defensive garrisons disperse into the wilderness. An enemy with orbital superiority can bombard surface forces with impunity. The best option for defenders is to hide and collect reconnaissance in anticipation of relief forces.

Given the size of a planet, it is impractical to garrison entire conquered worlds. Fortunately, colonization efforts tend to focus on building up a dozen or fewer areas. Ground forces occupy the spaceports, industrial facilities, and major population centres. The wilderness is patrolled by unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite reconnaissance. If a defender unit is spotted, airmobile rapid deployment units and satellite artillery are used to pin down and destroy them.

 **Pursuit Tactics**

Dependent on light, sensors cannot detect objects moving at a faster-than-light speeds. No ship can be detected at interstellar ranges. Detection at interplanetary ranges suffers from light speed lag: observers see ships not where they appear to be but where they were when the light bearing their image left them, minutes, hours, or days before. To counteract light speed lag, battle fleets surround themselves with spheres of screen and scouting frigates.

Pursuers cannot detect ships and directly intercept them. Instead, pursuers track where objects were, where they were heading, and at what speed they were moving. Such data reliably predicts an object's future location and for pursuit along its light-lagged "wake". Ships trying to evade pursuit follow erratic zigzag courses, requiring pursuers to make stops to update their projections.

 **Trans-Relay Assaults**

The crucial choice for any attack through mass relays is how to divide the fleet for transit. The accuracy of a relay's mass-projection depends on the mass being moved and how far it's going. Any long distance and/or high mass jump will see "drift". That is, a ship may be hundreds or millions of kilometers from its intended drop point, in any direction from the relay.

Distance can't be chosen by admirals, but a relay is told how much mass to transit. For example, if told to move a million metric tons of mass, the relay will scan the approach corridor, find four 250,000-ton freighters, and transit them together, maintaining their relative positions.

A commander has the option of moving his fleet as one large, coherent formation that may be wildly off-position, or breaking it up into many smaller formations that will be individually closer to the intended attack point, but could be widely dispersed.

Conservative assault doctrine holds that fleets should be moved en masse, maintaining concentration of force and reducing the chances of collision. The only time it is reasonable to split up a formation is during blockade running.

It should be noted that Mass Relays have simplified the nature of interstellar war for the Citadel races, as well as making it easier to protect their colonies. Mass Relays are the only way in and out of a star cluster; as such, the star system which houses the relay is where Council fleets are stationed. They can easily protect the star cluster by blockading the Relay, and any colonies in nearby star systems can be reached in as little as several hours, or two days, at most. While Mass Effect FTL is slow relative to the volume of the galaxy as a whole, by stationing fleets within star clusters, the Citadel races have ensured that colonies can be relieved quickly when under attack by hostile forces.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Just so you all know, while the Covenant's war against Humanity was certainly misguided, the way they went about it, I think, is quite sensible. I mean, think about WW2: projections showed that invading Japan would result in an unacceptable number of casualties, so the Yanks dropped the Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an act which most likely saved more lives than they ended. Try applying this to a planetary, or interstellar scale,and you'll find that invading and occupying planets is just time-consuming and impractical. This is why I think that the Rachni Wars and Krogan Rebellions lasted for centuries, rather than decades, because they were fighting for control of planets. Whereas the Human-Covenant War lasted 30 years because the Humans were getting glassed to hell; the only time the Covenant needed to deploy ground forces was to recover Forerunner artifacts.**

 **Also, because of ONIs acquisition of Forerunner artifacts across Human Space, as well as the ruins discovered on Onyx, the UNSC knows that there are most likely other alien civilizations in the galaxy, with the First Contact War as a confirmation. And because of the Forerunners' advanced tech, chances are, there could be aliens out there bigger and stronger than Humanity, and it would just be a matter of time before they end up stepping on their toes. So, planning for an encounter with a more advanced and hostile enemy is rather prudent, don't you think? Of course, after FCW, many Humans will become quite egotistical, believing themselves to be the pre-eminent civilization of the modern galaxy, the way the Citadel Council viewed themselves before encountering the innovative Yahg, and the Humans. So, the Human-Covenant War will be like a wake-up call for Humanity.**

 **Reviewer Comments**

 **Guest: To be honest, i don't know a damn thing about math.**

 **Chronus1326: Yeah, the Yahg aren't concerned with the Treaty of Farixen, and so long as they have the Eezo and the resources, they can build as many dreadnoughts as they like.**

 **Sheploo: Humans haven't developed energy shields yet, as they were reverse-engineered from Covie tech. During First Contact, the UNSC will salvage some Kinetic Barriers from the Citadel forces, and use them to point them in the right direction towards building Covenant-level energy shields. The UNSC have the power requirements needed, they just don't have the theory.**

 **zealous specter:Don't worry, I won't be talking about the Covenant until I begin writing the sequel.**

 **Six samurai of dragon order: The amount of damage the Kinetic Barriers can withstand are my own thing, because Bioware hasn't elaborated on them, so it's up to my imagination. Carriers have been mentioned, but not elaborated on, same with prowlers. This is from the Citadel Council's perspective, this codex, so their knowledge would be limited.**

 **Thanks for the reviews, and see ya next time!**


	10. Chapter 10: Galactic Intel Services

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect.**

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 **CODEX**

 **Galactic Intelligence Services**

 **Office of Naval Intelligence**

The intelligence service of Humanity (more commonly known as ONI). Overtly, the agency is merely the information gathering and analysis division of the UNSC Naval Command. In reality, the operations of the Office of Naval Intelligence are far broader than simple intelligence gathering.

ONI has become known for their preeminent role in the acquisition and leveraging of military intelligence. The agency is widely known for using subterfuge, deception, and manipulation in defence of UNSC interests in order to accomplish its goals.

Following the First Contact War, there have been a number of incidents with ONI between the Spectres, STG, the Shadow Broker, and the Yahg Secret Service, throughout Council Space, the Terminus Systems, and the Attican Traverse. These incidents are too minor to start a war, but still serious enough to strain diplomatic relations between all the major galactic powers.

 **Role and Operations**

Not much is known about the Office of Naval Intelligence, but we do know that it is responsible for UNSC signals intelligence (SIGINT), Human intelligence (HUMINT), counter-espionage, propaganda, and top-secret research and development programs. The agency mostly operates independently of other UNSC branches, and at times it contravenes the law and UNSC protocol to complete top-secret missions. ONI's Commander-in-Chief (CINCONI) is Admiral Serin Osman, successor and protégé to the late Margaret Parangosky, deceased as of 2560.

As it is responsible for intelligence matters across the UNSC, ONI employs members of other military branches, and even civilians, to complete the division's shadowy work. Many of its functions and subdivisions are enigmatic, and its personnel are mistrusted and regarded as mysteries by mainstream naval officers.

ONI is technically subordinate to the UNSC Naval Command. In practice, however, ONI's activities extend far beyond intelligence gathering, and often receive mandates and directives from HIGHCOM itself. It is also not unheard of for ONI to operate without HIGHCOM's knowledge or official authorization; indeed, it is suspected by the Spectres and STG that ONI is the real power behind the UNSC, and even the Unified Earth Government as a whole.

ONI has an unusually large amount of military equipment for an intelligence service, and has a strong fleet presence; their fleet is known as the Prowler Corps, and is responsible for intelligence gathering, behind-enemy-lines infiltration and exfiltration.

 **Prowlers**

The prowler is a variety of stealth-capable corvettes within the UNSC Navy. Most prowlers are crewed by Office of Naval Intelligence personnel serving under the Prowler Corps, with only a few ships operated by FLEETCOM.

Not much is known about the prowlers, their numbers and capabilities are a mystery to the Spectres and STG, but it is known that they can not only hide their heat signature from sensors, but also have a form of active camouflage which can fool the naked eye. How this is done is unknown, and attempts by the Spectres and STG to capture prowlers have been unsuccessful, so far. It is also known that a UNSC battlegroup has at least one prowler assigned to its ranks; the combat role of such prowlers, besides active combat monitoring and recording, is to discreetly lay cloaked fields of HORNET nuclear mines in orbital regions.

 **Spectres (Special Tactics and Reconnaissance)**

Spectres are agents entrusted with extraordinary authority by the Citadel Council, including the power of life and death over the inhabitants of the galaxy. They form an elite group selected from a number of different species, and their primary responsibility is to preserve galactic stability by whatever means necessary. Though they are generally considered as being above the law and have complete discretion as to the methods used to accomplish their mission, an individual's status as a Spectre can be revoked by the Council in a case of gross misconduct. Spectres work either alone or in small groups according to the nature of a particular task and to their personal preference.

 **Background**

The Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch was founded in 693 CE, shortly before the Krogan Rebellions began, at a time when the Council was uneasy about the unchecked expansion of the Krogan into Citadel space. The Spectres were chosen from the finest Salarian Special Tasks Group operatives and Asari huntresses, intended to function partly in an observational capacity, but also as the Council's first line of defence.

When the Krogan finally turned against the Citadel, the Spectres were ready for them, using guerrilla tactics such as computer viruses and devastating sabotage to slow the krogan down before the Turians joined the conflict. For years the activities of the Spectres were a Council secret, but their role was made public after the Krogan Rebellions were over.

All records of the Spectres are sealed and only granted access with permission of the Council. It is not even clear how many there are; the Council has been reluctant to give the public a general number for security reasons, but it is widely believed that there are hundreds. It should be noted, however, that since the beginning of the Cold War with the Yahg Empire, the Council has doubled, perhaps even tripled, the number of Spectres. Each Spectre is hand-picked by the Council after proving that they are an individual of exceptional ability and self-reliance.

In theory, Spectres can be chosen from any race; in practice they are usually selected from the Council races. Having a Spectre chosen from their kind often raises a particular species' profile on the Citadel. Many alien races have been part of the Citadel for centuries without a Spectre being chosen from their ranks, although, Batarians have been accepted within the Spectres' ranks, as the Batarian Hegemony has been growing in favour with the Citadel Council in the last five centuries, as their colonies in the Attican Traverse has provided a significant buffer between Inner Council Space, and the Yahg Empire.

 **Organization**

Spectres have no command structure. They answer only to the Council, and in some cases the Council prefers not to know the exact details of how a Spectre accomplishes their mission. Spectres act in any way they see fit, either with careful diplomacy or ruthless force, being officially above any law. Some people see Spectres as a potential risk because they are not constrained by the law, while others are in awe of them. The assignment of a Spectre is often less contentious than a military deployment, but shows that the Council is aware of a situation.

Candidates for the Spectres typically have years of military or law enforcement experience before even being considered. The screening process involves background checks, psychological evaluations, and a long period of field training under an experienced mentor. Because of the rigorous selection process, Spectres might sometimes use unorthodox methods but they rarely go rogue. When it does happen, the only solution is to revoke their status, then send another Spectre after them. No one else would be up to the job.

The Spectres were modelled upon the Salarian STG; granted paralegal authority instead of subordinate to common law, declared exempt from oversight instead of based within a command structure, and selected in recognition of a history of superior capability instead of trained. The STG is fully funded by the Salarian government, however, as opposed to the financial independence expected of Spectres.

Spectres are stripped of their status once they are declared legally deceased. They have to be reinstated in once proof of living (e.g. appearing in person and passing biometric checks) is presented.

 **STG**

Salarian intelligence field agents are grouped into an organization called the Special Tasks Group. STG operators work in independent cells, performing dangerous missions such as counter-terrorism, infiltration, reconnaissance, assassination, and sabotage.

The STG is a proactive organization, puncturing worrisome trends before they become movements. At any time, a dozen groups are operating covertly within the lawless Terminus Systems, sowing dissent among the various factions. Civilian analysts also note how troublesome "hinge point" individuals in Terminus frequently meet unexpected deaths.

STG operators are feared throughout the galaxy for their clear-eyed, remorseless practicality. They are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their mission, even if it kills civilians or results in the team's own destruction. In many ways, they are akin to the Council Spectres.

Many STG cells have also been deployed to the Attican Traverse in response to Yahg incursions; despite their status as the preeminent intelligence organization in the galaxy, the STG has failed to produce accurate intel concerning the Yahg, a source of great shame for them. However, they do suspect that the Yahg have continued to expand their territory in the 500 years of their first encounter with the Citadel Council; projections state that if the Yahg's territory, population and military assets continue to grow unabated, they will soon overcome the Citadel Council within the next fifteen-hundred years.

Attempts by the STG to gather intel on the UNSC, such as the location of Earth and the Colonies, as well as acquire their unique technology, has also met with failure, and has resulted in a number of harsh retaliations by ONI.

 **Yahg Secret Service**

An espionage organization of the Yahg Empire which provides services to the Imperial Military, the Lord of warriors, and the Emperor. The YSS focused of issues regarding the Imperial Navy such as threat reports, analysis, managing assets who gathered information, and providing briefing to the Lord of Warriors and the Emperor.

The Yahg Secret Service possesses a small fleet of corvettes, which is used to gather intelligence on enemy colonies, fleet movements, and to insert Special Operatives behind-enemy-lines and exfiltrate them once their mission is complete.

 **Shadow Broker**

The Shadow Broker is an individual at the head of an expansive organization which trades in information, always selling to the highest bidder. The Shadow Broker appears to be highly competent at its trade: all secrets that are bought and sold never allow one customer of the Broker to gain a significant advantage, forcing the customers to continue trading information to avoid becoming disadvantaged, allowing the Broker to remain in business.

Unfortunately for the Shadow Broker, attempts to gain information on the Yahg Empire and the UNSC has resulted in the deaths of many of his operatives; this has led to a "Shadow-War" as ONI and YSS has attempted to dismantle the Shadow Broker's organizations piece by piece.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **So, here are the big cheeses who operate in the shadows. Naturally, I couldn't provide every piece of available knowledge, as the Yahg, Humans, and Shadow Broker are careful to keep their secrets.**

 **The Yahg are, what I'd like to think of, as the Citadel Council's "Covenant", just as relentless and merciless. The UNSC will have a single, major encounter with the Yahg in the years following the FCW, but afterwards, during the Human-Covenant War, the Yahg are going to launch a major war of conquest in the Attican Traverse, and because they've been expanding since first contact with the Citadel, they'll have the numbers and the resources to sustain a full-scale war against the Citadel Council. And, because of the Cold War with the Yahg and Terminus Systems, the Citadel has become much harsher in it's attempts to protect themselves, as they've begun to feel boxed-in by the forces around them. This has led to an acceptance of strong-arm tactics against new, unknown races (like the UNSC).**

 **So, we can thank the Yahg for the First Contact War.**

 **My next chapter will be diplomatic relations; you know, the one you've all been looking forward to.**

 **So long and don't forget to review.**


	11. Chapter 11: UNSC Diplomatic Relations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Halo.**

* * *

 **Codex**

 **UNSC Diplomatic Relations**

The UNSC maintains a cold, yet friendly relationship with the Citadel Council; despite animosity over the illegal invasion of the Outer Colony of Harvest, they have developed a beneficial trading relationship. To cement diplomatic ties, the UNSC established an embassy on the Citadel in the year 2605, with Anita Goyle as the Human ambassador; concurrently, ambassadors from all major Council races were granted embassies on Harvest, which is the central hub for relations between the two galactic powers.

However, the UNSCs refusal to sign the Treaty of Farixen and the Citadel Conventions is a point of great contention between the two states, as well as the UNSCs use of Artificial Intelligences, which have been outlawed for centuries. Many accuse the Humans of deliberately spitting on the laws and traditions of the Citadel Council, which have kept their civilization safe for millennia; but others would point out that because the UNSC have spent centuries building their own society, one which works well for them, and because they are an independent civilization, the Citadel Council has no right to dictate how they are to run their government.

 **Asari Republics**

Relations between the UNSC and Asari Republics are good, politically, despite negative public perception on both sides of the border: the Asari see the Humans as needlessly aggressive and reckless, while the Humans see the Asari as condescending, meddlesome neighbours. The use of nuclear weapons on colonies during the Insurrection, as well adopting a radical Space Warfare Doctrine (SWD) which involves bombarding entire colonies, has greatly shocked the Asari, cementing the public image of Humans as bloodthirsty and demonic in the Republics.

In addition, because the Yahg are the only known race in the galaxy to have achieved FTL travel through their own merits, besides the Asari themselves, Humanity's discovery of Slipspace, and their technological development surpassing them within a brief span of two-hundred years, was a great blow to their racial pride. The Humans' insistence on referring to the Asari and other Citadel races as "imitative, rather than innovative", has done little to earn them friends among the Asari.

Further complicating the issue is the unexplained genetic similarities between Humans and Asari; during the First Contact War, examination of Human bodies revealed that their DNA structure shared a 97.8% similarity with the Asari. This has led to many wild theories, but the most widely believed is that the Protheans transplanted Humans onto Thessia in their ancient past, and thousands of years of exposure to Thessia's Element Zero reserves and natural selection cause them to evolve into the mono-gendered race they are today. Needless to say, such revelations have caused friction between the two species, as they are unsure how they should treat eachother: as family, or strangers?

This doesn't mean that relations are completely negative, as this is simply the general view on the relations between Humans and Asari; many Asari have emigrated to Harvest and found a life with Humans, whose similar appearance the Asari find attractive, something which many Humans reciprocate.

 **Turian Hierarchy**

Despite refusing to sign the Treaty of Farixen and Citadel Conventions, the relations between the UNSC and Turian Hierarchy are quite good; after all, two highly militarized, imperialistic governments tend to agree on many things, such as colonial policies: the Hierarchy has a history of crushing rebellions just as efficiently as the UNSC.

Whenever the UNSCs modern Space Warfare Doctrine is brought up in forum discussions, Turians are usually their staunchest defenders, as they assert that if the Hierarchy had the means to terra-form planets, clean up radioactive fallout, and repair damages to a planetary ecosystem, then the Hierarchy would be the first to adopt such a policy of colonial annihilation. After all, the Genophage is proof that the Turians won't hesitate to use tools of genocide against their enemies.

That is not to say that all Turians approve; some condemn the UNSCs SWD as irresponsible, and such a strategy could result in either, the Mutually Assured Destruction of all galactic powers, the extinction of entire races, or even the collapse of civilization. In fact, the Carver Findings are cited by the Turians as proof of this, as his projections on the Insurrection predicted the possibility of societal collapse, and Humanity sinking into a Dark Age of technological regression and barbarism.

As the UNSC is still rebuilding the damage caused by the Insurrection, the Turians have made a hefty profit by shipping thousands of tonnes of basic materials to the UNSC; in addition, Human corporations have been mining deposits of Element Zero recently discovered in Human Space, which they sell to the Hierarchy.

At the very least, the UNSC and Turian Hierarchy, as political entities, hold eachother in favour, but public opinion is, as always, divided.

 **Salarian Union**

The UNSC has rather cold political relations with the Salarians, as the STG has attempted numerous times to illegally acquire classified military technology, which has resulted in a number of incidences between ONI agents and the STG. The Salarian Union is, in turn, frustrated with the UNSCs refusal to share technology, specifically, the Slipspace Drive. Of course, even if the UNSC did grant them access to Slipspace tech, the Salarian Union would need to convince the Asari Republics and Turian Hierarchy to legalize their use in Citadel Space.

In the aftermath of the First Contact War, many Citadel races, mostly the Asari and Turians, were critical of slipspace as a viable means of FTL travel. While it is certainly faster than Eezo-based FTL, it also had greater dangers, such as Cherenkov radiation poisoning, gravity distortions of slipspace portals opened in-atmosphere, and some technicians simply vanishing from existence. As such, the Asari Republics and Turian Hierarchy voted to outlaw the use and study of Slipspace Drives in Citadel Council Space.

Despite strained political relations, UNSC and Salarian scientists are known to meet up on Harvest to share ideas; their restlessness and reckless behaviour makes it easy for some Humans to relate better to the Salarians, as opposed to the conservative Asari and Turians. The Salarian Union also highly approves of the UNSCs Space Warfare Doctrine, as they consider it to be efficient and practical, though they are disappointed that they can't adopt the strategy for themselves, as they don't have access to terra-forming tech. And because they are signatories of the Citadel Conventions.

 **Batarians**

In another era, the discovery of a new race would have compelled the Batarian Hegemony to hire pirates and slavers to raid a colony, to test the new race's defences, and to introduce a new race into their slave trade. However, times have changed.

The Citadel Council allowed the Batarians to settle the Skyllian Verge and Attican Traverse, so that they could serve as a buffer zone between Council Space and the Terminus Systems. This was a god-send for the Batarians, as they had been suffering from overpopulation and a stagnating economy for centuries since the Krogan Rebellions; colonizing these new worlds stabilized their overpopulation burden, and the resources extracted has brought about a new Golden Age for the Batarian people. But like all Golden Ages, it couldn't last forever.

The year 2125 GST saw the introduction of the Yahg Empire on the galactic stage, and they made quite a first impression by invading and conquering the Batarian colony Zhuligg, deep within the Attican Traverse. Ever since then, whenever there would be a raid, border clash, or brushfire conflict between the Yahg and the Citadel Council, it would be in the Attican Traverse. And although the Citadel Council sends fleets and soldiers to assist in fending off Yahg incursions, it is the Batarians who suffer the brunt of their attacks; and everyone in Citadel Space knows that it's only a matter of time until the Yahg grow strong enough to launch a full-scale invasion of the Attican Traverse, and when that happens, it will be the Batarian people who will suffer the most.

As such, with the prospect of a future, all-out war against an aggressive alien empire on the horizon, the Batarian Hegemony is less interested in provoking a first-rate galactic power (one which defeated the combined forces of the Asari, Turians, and Salarians at Harvest, and who have a history of using nuclear weapons on garden worlds) and more interested in earning their goodwill. And while the general Human public are disgusted by the Hegemony's continued practice of slavery, so long as the Batarians refrain from raiding UNSC colonies and abducting citizens for their slave trade, then the UNSC is perfectly happy to establish trade relations with the Batarians.

So, while Humanity as a whole perceive the Hegemony as an archaic and barbaric civilization, the UNSC has no problem with trading and maintaining diplomatic relations with a government which has, to date, done nothing to wrong them.

 **Krogan Protectorate**

As a client race of the Turian Hierarchy, the Krogan have good diplomatic relations with the UNSC; some Krogan mercenaries have been hired by ONI to assist in black-ops throughout the Terminus Systems, as well as assassinations of high profile targets throughout Citadel Space. On Harvest, Krogan visitors are generally treated as criminals, a reputation that most Krogan enjoy living down to. This is due to the unsavoury actions of Krogan auxiliary troops during the First Contact War, acts which the Turian Hierarchy are ashamed of, as they failed to rein in the Krogan's brutal treatment of POWs and captured civilians.

 **Vol Protectorate**

Due to good Turian relations with the UNSC, the Volus also benefit greatly from the flow of trade to and from Human Space; unlike the Turians, they approve of the slipspace Drive and have been lobbying for the chance to reverse-engineer the tech. Frustratingly, not only do the Turian Hierarchy and Asari Republics remain staunchly opposed to legalizing slipspace, the UNSC still refuse to grant them access to the technology.

 **Quarian Conclave**

Relations between the UNSC and Quarian Conclave are very cold, almost non-existent; this is due to the UNSCs use of Artificial Intelligences, a practice which the Quarians consider to be foolish and dangerous for the galaxy as a whole. The UNSC, in turn, consider the Quarians to be a race of slothful and degenerate creatures, which had to create a race of synthetic slaves for labour and war because they were too weak to pull their own weight, and flourish in the galaxy through their own merits.

Needless to say, you'll find no Quarian on Harvest.

 **Courts of Dekuuna**

Relations between the UNSC and the Elcor are very warm, as the UNSC are responsible for saving the Elcor's stagnating economy. Elcor Space is rich in Titanium, but because the material is so abundant in Citadel Space, the Elcor have to sell it in bulk at ridiculously low prices just to interest people in buying it. But Titanium is extremely valuable to the UNSC, who buy it by the multi-tonnes with credits and Element Zero; and due to the new wealth flowing through the economy, the Elcor are now entering a new Golden Age, and it's all thanks to the UNSC.

 **Illuminated Primacy**

The UNSC and Hanar have no political contact, as neither have anything which interests the other.

 **The Terminus Systems**

There has been no political contact, whatsoever between the UNSC and Terminus Systems, as the relay which leads to Human Space is far away from the Skyllian Verge and Attican Traverse, which are the borders of the Terminus Systems. However, ONI agents have been known to travel throughout the Terminus, though what their purpose there is unknown.

 **The Yahg Empire**

There are no diplomatic relations between the UNSC and Yahg, only hostility. In the year 2612, the Yahg successfully sent a raiding party of 21 warships through the relay leading to Human Space, which they used to attack the Outer Colony, Harvest. How the Yahg managed to sneak their fleet past the Attican Traverse, through Inner Council Space, and to the relay leading to Human Space is unknown; though ONI has accused the STG of leaking intel to the Yahg Secret Service, informing them of blind spots in Council Fleet deployments and patrols. However, this accusation is unfounded and therefore, dismissed by the Citadel Council.

Regardless of how the Yahg made it to Human Space, what is known is that the Yahg battle-group of one dreadnought, four cruisers, five destroyers, nine frigates, and two corvettes engaged the Harvest Defence Fleet, which was at seventy-five warships, and was subsequently routed, with only one corvette surviving to flee back to Yahg Space. It should be noted, however, that the Yahg's battle-group managed to destroy eighteen UNSC warships, indicating that the Yahg's naval technology has improved by leaps and bounds throughout the last five-hundred years.

Ever since the raid, the UNSC has been planning contingencies, should the Yahg ever send another raiding fleet into Human Space.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **You know, in some Halo/Mass Effect fics, writers have been trying to explain why Humans and Asari are so similar; my take on it, is that in Prehistoric Humanity's/Forerunners' early spacefaring periods, they settled onto many worlds with different environmental conditions; some would have high or low gravity, some would be harsh worlds with deadly predators, and others would be soft worlds, full of gentle things. I would think that they would colonize these worlds, go through a Dark Age when they would spend centuries, maybe even millenia isolated from eachother, and after thousands of years of natural selection and genetic drift, they would evolve and adapt to those worlds. In Halo Canon, there was quite a lot of genetic variation between the ancient Humans; same with the Forerunners, though their variation was a result of genetic engineering. My belief, is that the Forerunners' evolution was stunted, because they were at peace for such long periods of time, whereas the Humans were quickly surpassing them, in technology and evolution, because they were enduring so much turmoil.**

 **Hell, in the Forerunner Trilogy, it is speculated that Humans and Forerunners were the same species during the Precursor's era, but they were separated, seeded on Erde-Tyrene and Ghibalb, and millions of years of separation caused them to evolve into two completely different races; so, in that light, I'd say my explanation for how the Asari and Humans are so genetically similar has merit. As to how they ended up on different planets, I'd say that after the firing of the Halo Array, the Forerunners seeded them on different planets. Also, as I am planning to write a whole lot of stories in this Universe, I'd like to mention now that somewhere down the road, I plan to introduce other Human races; one such race I have in mind, adapted to survive on an ice world, like Hoth from Star Wars. What do you think of that?**

 **As for the Citadel Council outlawing slipspace, that was inspired by The Last Spartan, by Dinojake (which, incidentally, I don't like very much). The Council have already begun to adopt the Yahg's Star-Hopping techniques in travelling through the dead zones, so they don't need to invest in a new, unstable form of FTL, which is only 2.625 times faster. Of course, once the Covenant comes knocking, the Council will change their tune, but by then it's not going to do them much good.**

 **Even though the Citadel Council attacked Harvest unprovoked, the Humans are willing to get along with them, if it's worth their while; so I don't see why the UNSC would be at odds with the Batarians, seeing as they haven't attacked them at all. So long as the Batarians keep pirates and slavers away from UNSC colonies, they won't care that the Hegemony practices slavery. It's an "out of sight, out of mind" kind of deal. And the last thing the Batarians want to do is provoke the sleeping giant, as they've already got the Yahg pressing on their borders. To do so would be stupid, and while many Mass Effect writers like to portray the Batarians as stupid, the way I see it: "Stupid races don't build spaceships". Those are words taken from Starship Troopers, and I think it should apply to the Batarians.**

 **The Quarians' relationship with Humanity is predictable, of course. There's not much to say on the minor races, because they are "minor". The Yahg were a brief nuisance to the UNSC, and the STGs assistance to them was an attempt by them to observe the Yahg's new capabilities, and to see how much better the UNSC could hold up against them, in comparison to the Citadel Council's forces. It's also a reference to the number of clashes between ONI and the STG, which was mentioned in the last post.**

 **Anyway, I've said all I needed to say. This is the last entry, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to begin posting the actual story. This codex was really just a way for me to gauge people's reactions, and see whether or not people are favorable to the Universe I've crafted. So, be sure to tell me what you think; constructive criticism is welcome, and if you all like what i'm doing, then I'll try to get the story out as quickly as possible.**

 **Until then, so long and thanks for all the fish!**


	12. Chapter 12: Space Piracy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect. If I did, Mass Effect wouldn't be so bloody underpowered!**

* * *

 **CODEX**

 **Space Piracy**

Piracy is an illegal act typically involving violence or the seizure of property carried out against a watercraft, aircraft, spacecraft, or port. By extension, acts of participating in or inciting such activities are defined as piracy by the UNSC Convention on Admiralty Law of 2315.

Traditionally, pirates are remembered as raiders who prowled the seas of Earth, hijacking merchant shipping. But the important point is that they did it on the water - when humanity broke free of the constraints of Earth's atmosphere, it was almost inevitable that space piracy would become the new lucrative threat to shipping. By the 24th century, space piracy was widespread enough for the UNSC to adopt the UNSC Convention on Admiralty Law of 2315, which authorizes the summary execution of pirates by the forces of an officially recognized government. The budding threat of piracy in space also contributed to the creation of the Colonial Military Administration in 2310, one of its main functions being the protection of colonial vessels from raiders as humanity began interstellar expansion. This laid the foundation for the Unified Earth Government's military presence in the Outer Colonies; the very involvement which would later provoke the colonists' ire and contribute to the sparking of the Insurrection.

The Insurrectionist movement was frequently engaged in pirate activities, and by 2517, pirates were considered a serious threat to vessels traveling in the Outer Colonies without an armed escort. However, it was in the 2560s, when the UNSC pulled out all naval assets from the Outer Colonies, that piracy become an ever greater threat, not just to ships travelling in space, but to Colonial populations themselves; without the UNSC to protect them, many Outer Colonies were occupied by pirate warlords, who engaged in all manner of criminal activities unhindered, such as Human Trafficking, racketeering, drug dealing, and gun-running. Many refugees who tried to flee from the occupied colonies on freighters were hijacked and subjected to brutal treatment, such as spacing, rape, dismemberment, and crippling the freighters' slipspace drives and sub light engines, and leaving the refugees to starve to death as they drift in space. Although, it should be noted, that on some occasions, the refugees were allowed to flee to the Inner Colonies, but not without many being abducted and returned to the Outer Colonies (most of these abductees were women and children, to be sold in the sex trade).

Although many of the pirate organizations were ousted from their conquered colonies during Operation: Infinity, many of them survived to continue harassing the Outer Colonies after the Insurrection, and to this day, are a threat the UNSC have failed to utterly destroy.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **A short chapter, but I was actually planning to post the first chapter of my story first, but then something came up: A reviewer, Mr Aanonymous, sent me a private message and challenged me to something. He suggested I write a story in the style of College Fool, who wrote Renegade Reinterpretations. I already plan to write my story in a specific way, but he suggested I get a vote on it from my reviewers.**

 **Here's the thing: my story, Mass Effect: First Contact, is really the first of 12 stories, which I will write within the next 5 years. It's a long project for me, and it's popularity will determine whether or not I continue. Now, if you all want me to write a story in the format of Renegade Reinterpretations, then I'll bump up the number of stories to 13, and write a story called the Domain Archives, which will have background info on the Forerunners' era; their history, their wars, other races, and their downfall. Vote yes, and this is what you'll get. Vote no, and I'll go on my merry little way, and focus on the main storyline.**

 **What do you all say?**

 **P.S: I'm almost done with the rough draft of the first chapter for ME:FC, and as soon as I type it up, I'll post it as soon as possible.**

 **Until then so long and thanks for all the fish!**


	13. Chapter 13: New story

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect.**

* * *

 **Hello, everyone. My new story is out, and it's called:**

 **Mass Effect: First Contact.**

 **Not exactly an original name, but it tells you what it's all about.**

 **This will actually be the first story of twelve, and it will serve as an introduction to my universe. I know what's going to happen in every story; what they're all about, and I know how it's going to end. But, I only have a broad, general idea of how I'm going to get there. Basically, I'm going the Stephen King route and coming up with the story as I write it.**

 **But ME:FC is different; I planned it as a standalone story, so I know what's going to happen all the way through, and who the characters are, and whatnot.**

 **So, I hope you enjoy it, understand something; I'm an amateur writer, and these series of stories are merely a means for me practice my non-existent skills and gain confidence as a writer. So, if you have any criticisms; lay it all on me, and don't be gentle. I work better when someone's busting my ass.**

 **So, long, and thanks for all the fish!**


	14. Chapter 14: Vehicles

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect, unfortunately.**

* * *

 **Vehicles**

 **UNSC**

 **Warthog**

 **Manufacturer:** AMG Transport Dynamics.

 **Model:** M18 FAV (Force Application Vehicle)

 **Cost:** 52,000 cR

 **Length:** 6 meters.

 **Width:** 3.2 meters.

 **Height:** 3 meters.

 **Mass:** 3 metric tonnes.

 **Maximum Speed:** 125 km/h (78 mph)

 **Engines:** 12.0 L liquid-cooled hydrogen-injected ICE.

 **Hull:** Ballistic polycarbonate, titanium, carbon nanotube.

 **Armament:** Variable (Chaingun, Gauss, Rockets)

 **Crew:** 1 Driver, 1 Passenger, 1 Gunner.

 **Roles:** Infantry mobility/multipurpose vehicle, internal security, military patrol, rapid transport and reconnaissance.

 **Overview:** The Warthog is the UNSCs primary ground vehicle, used for its scouting and reconnaissance capacity, or as an integral part of a mechanized infantry unit. It is a highly mobile, all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, hydrogen-injected ICE powered vehicle equipped with a manual transmission.

 **Scorpion Main Battle Tank**

 **Manufacturer:** Chalybs Defense Solutions.

 **Model:** M832

 **Length:** 12.75 meters.

 **Width:** 9.75 meters.

 **Height:** 5.5 meters.

 **Mass:** 82.5 meters.

 **Maximum Speed:** 72.375 km/s (45 mph)

 **Hull:** Ceramic Titanium Armour.

 **Armaments:** 1 M538 smooth-bore High Velocity Cannon, 1 M329T Heavy Machine Gun.

 **Operational Range of Cannon:** 1,278 meters.

 **Crew:** 1 Driver, 1 Gunner, 4 Passengers.

 **Role:** Anti-Armour platform, Anti-vehicular platform, Anti-infantry platform, heavy weaponry.

 **Overview:** The M832 has, in various battles throughout the Insurrection, proven itself to be the workhorse of UNSC armoured attack vehicles. Its thick ceramic-titanium armour can withstand a direct hit from several rockets and continue on with enough armour to keep fighting. Its armour, however, severely limits its speed, but the Scorpion compensates with the extreme long-range of its cannon, which can deliver a devastating blow to anything it strikes- infantry or armour.

 **Cobra Light Battle Tank**

 **Manufacturer:** Misriah Armour

 **Model:** SP54

 **Length:** 11 meters.

 **Width:** 6.5 meters.

 **Height:** 4.7 meters.

 **Maximum Speed:** 120.625 km/h (75 mph)

 **Hull:** Ballistic polycarbonate, titanium, carbon nanotube.

 **Armament:** M108 30mm light railgun, M89 105mm Machine Gun.

 **Role:** Anti-armour/Anti-vehicle/Anti-infantry/ Anti-materiel/ Anti-fortification.

 **Overview:** The SP54 Cobra was first deployed in 2497 during Operation: CHARLEMAGNE. Following this initial deployment the Cobra was extensively during the Insurrection in both defensive and offensive roles. Lightly armoured, but very fast, the Cobra has often been nicknamed as "the Glass Cannon."

 **Wolverine Main Anti-Aircraft Tank**

 **Manufacturer:** Ushuaia Armoury

 **Model:** M27

 **Length:** 9.875 metres

 **Width:** 5.5 metres

 **Armament:** M780 MLRS, XM562 HGL

 **Crew:** One driver, two gunners.

 **Role:** Self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery.

 **Overview:** As its name suggests, the M9 MAAT is designed for anti-air combat. It is not a tank in the traditional sense, rather using a half-track design which enables it to operate in rough terrain; it received the "tank" moniker due to its development alongside the UNSC's main battle tanks, as well as due to its general architecture and framework. The Wolverine has been used to great effect throughout the Insurrection, and is still a mainstay of the UNSC.

 **Elephant Heavy Recovery Vehicle**

 **Manufacturer:** Jotun Heavy Industries

 **Model:** M912

 **Length:** 32.125 metres

 **Width:** 17 metres

 **Mass:** 256.25 tonnes

 **Armament:** 3 M168 LAAG, 1 M367 GPMGT auto cannon

 **Other Systems:** Crane system

 **Role:** Mobile Command Base, Mobile Recovery Platform, and Troop Deployment Platform.

 **Overview:** Designed and manufactured by JOTUN Heavy Industries, the Elephants were initially used in the utility and farming industries during the early colonial expansion periods. After several decades serving in the civilian market, JOTUN was contracted by the UNSC to develop the Elephants and build them as armoured repair and recovery vehicles. As time has progressed, the Elephant has been modified into several variants and upgrades, though the Elephant's versatility remains unchanged.

 **Rhino Mobile Artillery Assault Platform**

 **Manufacturer:** Chalybs Defence Solutions

 **Model:** M435D

 **Length:** 19.5 metres

 **Width:** 11.25 metres

 **Armament:** Zeus 30mm Gauss Cannon

 **Crew:** One operator

 **Overview:** Originally developed by the Insurrectionists during the Breadbasket Campaigns, the Rhinos were used to strike down UNSC Frigates as they provided atmospheric fire support for friendly troops. UNSC warship armour, while good at withstanding kinetic/explosive weapons, was nearly useless against the plasma shells fired by the Rhino, which could simply melt through armour like butter; fortunately, the UNSC managed to salvage the remains of many of these tanks (and the plasma shells) and reverse-engineer them for UNSC use, improving the original design by leaps and bounds.

 **Gremlin Combat Support Vehicle**

 **Manufacturer:** Chalybs Defence Solutions

 **Model:** XRP15

 **Length:** 12.5 metres

 **Width:** 6 metres

 **Armament:** X28 Non-Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Cannon

 **Crew:** One Operator, Five crew members.

 **Role:** Combat Support Vehicle. It is used to hamper, interfere with, and disable enemy electronics in support of offensive operations; it is mostly used against enemy combat vehicles.

 **Overview:** The underlying technology of the Gremlin was designed during the early years of the Insurrection as a test bed for non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse technology, in the hope that it could be used to prevent weapons of mass destruction from being detonated. Though this technology was not new, it had never been functionally harnessed with such a great deal of precision. The resulting Non-Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Cannon was then mounted aboard a transport chassis, forming the basis of the Gremlin; unfortunately, the NNEPC is the only weapon on the Gremlin, thus rendering it easily vulnerable to attack.

 **Pelican Drop ship/Troop Carrier**

 **Manufacturer:** Misriah Armoury

 **Role:** Drop ship, gunship.

 **Length:** 38.125 metres – Troop Bay: 7.7375 metres

 **Width:** Wingspan-29.125 metres – Troop Bay: 5.8125 metres

 **Height:** 12.5 metres – 4.0375 metres

 **Engines:** Two main engines, ten maneuvering thrusters.

 **Navigation Systems:** Motion Trackers, Radar.

 **Armament:** M390 autocannon, 50mm chaingun, Two ANVIL Air-To-Surface Missile Pods (eight missiles each), One internally mounted AIE-972K HMG.

 **Complement:** 20 to 30 passengers, One Tank, or One FAV, or six resupply canisters, or one Troop deployment Pod, or one Deployable Bridge.

 **Crew:** One pilot, one co-pilot, one crew chief.

 **Overview:** The Pelican is mainly responsible for the rapid insertion and extraction of troops. They also deliver vehicles and equipment to the battlefield when required. The Pelican has been in service since the year 2502, and is the primary tactical support aircraft of the UNSC, capable of spaceflight and atmospheric operation.

 **Vulture Heavy Gunship**

 **Manufacturer:** Ushuaia Armoury

 **Model:** AC-792

 **Length:** 43.875 metres

 **Hull:** Titanium Armour Plating

 **Crew:** One pilot, one co-pilot, four gunners.

 **Armament:** C-244 Syler Vertical Missile Launcher, GUA-26/AW/Linkless Feed autocannons, Argent V Missiles.

 **Role:** Ground attack/ Close air support, siegeworks/artillery gunship.

 **Overview:** The Vulture is the preferred aerial combat vehicle during prolonged air-and-ground engagements, particularly against heavily fortified enemy strongholds.

 **Hornet Ground Assault Aircraft**

 **Manufacturer:** Ushuaia Armoury

 **Model:** AV-42

 **Length:** 12 meters

 **Width:** 10.875 meters

 **Height:** 6.1875 meters

 **Engine:** Turbofan/Turbojet engine

 **Armament:** Two Class-6 GMLS, two twin-linked rotary cannons, one GUA-26/AW/Linkless Feed autocannons.

 **Crew:** One pilot, two passengers.

 **Role:** Close-air support, Light Troop Transport, Light anti-vehicle/personnel.

 **Falcon Troop Transport**

 **Manufacturer:** Misriah Armoury

 **Model:** XK-432

 **Length:** 14.25 metres

 **Width:** 12.5 metres

 **Engine:** Twin Turboprop Engines

 **Armament:** 18mm M575 Autocannon, two 36mm M920 Automatic Grenade Launchers, two 11.43mm M256H Heavy Machine Guns.

 **Crew/Complements:** One pilot, two door gunners, 6 passengers.

 **Role:** Troop Transport

 **Overview:** The Falcon is the primary air-to-ground support and troop transport aircraft of the UNSC Army. Two Falcons can transport a fully-equipped fireteam faster than any other previous system, and can provide overwhelming fire support in most weather conditions.

 **Longsword Interceptor/Strike Fighter**

 **Manufacturer:** Misriah Armoury

 **Model:** GC-WO3

 **Role:** Atmospheric/Exo-atmospheric fighter, Strike fighter, Interceptor, Bomber.

 **Length:** 80.125 metres

 **Width:** 93.75 metres

 **Height:** 16.125 metres

 **Engines:** Twin fusion reactors

 **Hull:** Titanium-A Battleplate

 **Armament:** Two standard M3036 ASW/AC 45mm MLA, 98mm rotary cannons, 108mm ventral guns, four CVJP-30 missiles, and forty Moray Space Mines.

 **Other Systems:** Cryo Chambers

 **Crew:** Pilot, co-pilot, navigator, systems operator.

 **Overview:** The Longsword was designed during the 25th century by Gov Aukland and Thomas Levesque, whose names inspired the GA-TL1 designation. Longswords saw service during throughout the Insurrection, such as during the nuclear bombing of Far Isle, The Fall of Reach, and the Battle of A Baoa Qu.

 **Broadsword Exoatmospheric Multi-role Strike Fighter**

 **Manufacturer:** Misriah Armoury

 **Length:** 25.25 metres

 **Width:** 24.625 metres

 **Height:** 13.625 metres

 **Engines:** Two primaries, and two secondaries.

 **Armament:** Two M5375 ASW/AC 32mm MLA cannons, and two M12076 ST/MMP missile delivery systems.

 **Crew:** One pilot, one RIO (Radar Intercept Officer).

 **Overview:** Although the Broadsword has been in use since the 2530s, it was not adopted to widespread usage until the 2570s, the final years of the Insurrection.

 **Sabre Anti-ship Spaceplane**

 **Role:** Planetary/Orbital defence

 **Length:** 30.75 metres

 **Width:** 23.625 metres

 **Engines:** Two main engines and wing-mounted thrusters, and detachable multi-stage booster rocket system.

 **Armament:** Two M342 ASW/AC 27mm MLA cannons, two VW/Medusa delivery systems.

 **Crew:** One pilot, one RIO

 **Overview:** In the 2560s, when hundreds of Outer Colonies seceded from the UNSC, the primary Insurrectionists faction, the NCA, developed the Sabre to protect their colonies from an enemy that has succeeded in obtaining orbital superiority over a planet; indeed, during the 2570s, many UNSC warships were downed by the Sabres. Impressed by their performance, the UNSC have since adopted the Sabres and many Outer Colonies are defended from pirates with the Sabres.

 **Citadel Council**

 **Kraledik Drop-shuttle**

The Turian Hierarchy XW-235 drop-shuttle landing craft can hold up to 12 in a cramped, uncomfortable cargo bay, and two more in the cockpit. The vehicle's robust environmental sealant technology exposes few vulnerable parts to the elements. The Kraledik can land in hard vacuum, high pressure, and temperatures from near-absolute zero to over 900 degrees Celsius. A true contragravitic vehicle, the Kraledik's substantial element zero core allows flight by entirely countering the vehicle's mass. Its small thrusters are for directional control only, so if the mass effect field fails, the vehicle becomes a proverbial "three-million-credit coffin." The unarmed shuttle forgoes weaponry-space for active masking, electronic countermeasures, and a robust kinetic barrier system. It is ideal for dropping troops undetected.

 **Maako Infantry Fighting Vehicle**

The "Maako" infantry fighting vehicle was designed for the Turian Hierarchy's frigates. Though the interior is cramped, an M35 is small enough to be carried in the cargo bay and easily deployed on virtually any world.

With its turreted mass accelerator and coaxially-mounted machine gun, the Maako can provide a fire team with weapon support as well as mobility. Since Hierarchy marines may be required to fight on any world, the Maako is environmentally-sealed and equipped with microthrusters for use on low-gravity planetoids.

The Maako is powered by a sealed hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, and includes a small element zero core. While not large enough to nullify the vehicle's mass, the core can reduce it enough to be safely air-dropped. When used in conjunction with the thrusters, it also allows the Maako to extricate itself from difficult terrain.

 **Munk-Tiss Gunship**

The M-55 Munk-Tiss is a two-man, vectored-thrust aircraft that excels in close air support roles. Highly modular in construction, the Munk-Tiss can be reconfigured as a low-altitude gunship, a fighter, a high-altitude bomber, or even a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane that can engage enemy craft around a planet or space station. The only role that the Mantis cannot perform is that of a true deep-space fighter, as it has no FTL drive.

First rolled off the assembly lines in 2170, the Munk-Tiss remains in service in dozens of armies across the galaxy. It is most commonly used as air support in pitched ground battles, in a configuration that sports two pods for Inferno PKRs (Precision Kill Rockets) and a chin-mounted M350 mass accelerator cannon. Its kinetic barriers, thermal decoy system, and electronic countermeasures suite make the Munk-Tiss far less vulnerable to surface-to-air attacks than previous generations of aircraft. Like most modern planes, the Munk-Tiss uses an element zero core to ease the load of the engines with a mass effect field, allowing it to take off vertically or hover in place using minimum fuel.

 **Kazzer-ked Infantry Fighting Vehicle**

The Kazzer-Ked can seat at least three crew members at a time. It incorporates an onboard VI system that monitors the environment for dangers and alerts the crew. An integrated mineral collection system allows the Kazzer-Ked to retrieve any resources it finds during a mission. Like the Maako, it is capable of being air-dropped from a frigate and of propelling itself vertically to scale obstacles by means of hoverjets. But continuous exertion of the Kazzer-Ked's hoverjets will overheat them, rendering them useful only for short hops. The Kazzer-Ked also incorporates a boost feature that allows the vehicle to move quickly across the battlefield. If the boost and hoverjets are used simultaneously, the hoverjets will overheat quicker and not cool until the boost is released.

The Kazzer-Ked is armed with a single gun which can only swivel vertically, but it compensates for this by boasting a fairly high rate of fire and a guided missile system that ensures accuracy even during aggressive maneuvering. Despite its formidable weaponry and design, the vehicle lacks onboard kinetic barriers, making it vulnerable to sustained enemy fire. This problem is somewhat mitigated by the Kazzer-Ked's sophisticated repair system which automatically restores the vehicle's integrity if no damage is taken for a brief period of time. Nevertheless, the Kazzer-Ked's vulnerability forces its driver to manoeuvre constantly out of the line of fire in order to prevent major damage.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I know, right? It's been months since I've last updated. I'm sorry, but I have a lot of reasons (EXCUSES)for stalling this codex and my First Contact Story; Doom, Batman Arkham Knight, job searching, procrastination, Destiny Rise of Iron, writer's block, and a whole heap of other reasons. The good news is, I am fairly confidant that I can update ME;FC next month; not sure as to exactly when, but I can do it. So until then, as a peace offering to alleviate my guilt, I give you this meager chapter.**

 **So long, and thanks for all the (STALE)fish!**


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